I debated again about writing about this. I mean- there's been ump-teen (is that even how you spell that?) articles posted about the 50 Shades movie. All that I have read have been well written, and follow my thoughts about it- So why write one more?
Here's why.
I read on a page tonight, posted by a teen, of how she needed a "Christian Gray" in her life. WHAT!!??
MY. HEART. SANK.
What on earth? How is it that this is the model of what a young (very young) woman would want in a man? I haven't read the book- but I've read enough about it to know that he is not what a godly man looks like. Is he even what a good man looks like?
But here's my problem, in context of this situation.
Moms, aunts, young women, older women, those of us who can be mentors to our teen girls- what message are you and I sending to them when we condone, and participate in movies and books as such- and play it off as entertainment?
I will be the first to admit there have been things that I should not have watched. I'll also tell you that unfortunately those images are burned in my mind to this day.
I will also confess- wonder if I'm alone- that even as messed up as the movie is, there is a temptation that calls out to me when I see the previews. It is designed to lure us in. Even if for some reason there was someone who had no clue what the movie was about, the trailer stirs within you a desire to want to know. No, I don't want to see it, nor will I see it. That doesn't remove the whisper of the darkness though. The whisper is so real, that the other night I dreamed I went to see the movie.
It's infiltrated my sleep. But that is the way the darkness works. It gets in our head. It parades as light, as entertainment. It begins with temptation, then sin, and eventually death. "But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desires. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death." James 1:14-15
Back to my original debate- our young girls. It is hard enough to try to live a godly life as an adult. Try being fifteen. Look at what society tells them is normal, natural. Worse than that, when my first graders are using words like "sexy" and "humping," I know we are way off from what morality and our homes should look like. And now, for some reason not just women, but also teenage girls have the idea that they need a "love" in the form of Christian Gray.
Oh, we need Jesus.
I need Jesus, everyday.
Ladies- and men, if it applies- what message are you sending to those who are looking up to you? To those who are watching what you do and say? I promise, they are looking and listening.
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Here's the repost:
A few nights ago, I woke myself up from a nightmare. If you know me very well, you'll know I have weird dreams. So, this night was like most, only I rarely have nightmares. I was dreaming that I was driving into some camp-like setting. Next thing I remember, we're at a pond at my parents. There's a tree growing by the the pond, a dirt hill, and more water on the other side of the hill. Coming up beside the tree is a python- a big one. This particular python was swallowing a raccoon, if I remember correctly. I ran, needless to say, as it crossed over the hill, to the other side of the water. There, my daddy and I were standing on the edge, where some roots or something "snaky looking" was also in the water. There was another snake nearby. Then, the scary part- Presley was in the water; she was very little in my dream. The next thing I remember, she went down behind the roots, and before I finally woke up, I was trying to scream to my daddy, "Go get her! Go get her!" I knew that snake was headed in her direction.
I woke myself and Jason up, as I was making that noise. As I was in the middle of waking/dreaming, I remember trying to get my daddy to get her, only it was as if I had my mouth taped. I couldn't get the words out, and he couldn't understand what I was saying.
Before I get to the rest of this blog, let me start by saying I have often thought certain "snakes" were just "sticks." There have been plenty of times where something seemed harmless and I picked it up, only to realize later I'd been bitten. That is just how the snake, the devil, works. So, guilty I am. I've held the snake of bitterness, pride, jealously, lust, envy, slander, gossip..........when Satan had made them only look like harmless, lifeless sticks........I've got no stones to throw. But, if someone saw a snake about to come after me, bite me or begin to wrap around me, I would hope they would hear someone screaming, "Go get her!" like I was in my dream.
I have been very concerned over the summer's rage in books and movies. Even as I type, I have mixed feelings of how to convey my feelings yet not come across judgmental. I feel these are just some of the tools Satan uses. He parades around as light, but his goal is to steal, kill and destroy. We justify so much, thinking it doesn't affect us.
I asked, "How do we balance not sounding judgmental, yet hold ourselves and others up to the standards to which we are called?" Are we just "fans" of Christ, or "followers?"
These are hard questions I'm having to ask myself.
The Lord has convicted me of some of these "grey" areas, but really, there are no grey areas.
It's either darkness or light- those are not my Words.
I pray that God would put those people in my life, who will "come get me" when they see that I may be near a snake and not realize it. OR, when I'm near a snake and I DO realize it.
I pray for the love of God to help me "go get others" in danger.
"In reality just about anywhere you go in dense tropical habitats, there are many many snakes around you. But how often do you actually see the snakes? They are difficult to see because most snakes are "sit and wait" predators but also because they have great markings to help them hide from predators and prey." - thewildclassroom.com
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