As
I read a post of a good friend this morning on Facebook my heart was saddened. First, let me share with you the gist of the
post. Over the past several days several
people have drawn a line in the sand regarding their beliefs about a certain
movie which Hollywood recently released by the name of “Magic Mike.” The storyline behind this film focuses on a “male
stripper who teaches a younger
performer how to party, pick up women, and make easy money” according to
imdb.com. My friend’s post on Facebook
was in response to several professing Christians who were apparently
celebrating the release of this film and their viewing of it coupled with the
disapproval of others who were outspoken regarding the film and those going to
see the film. The point of the confrontation
stemmed from people who approved of the movie.
They felt as they were being judged for lauding the film and viewing it
in the theaters. They cried
judgmentalism against those who were anti-Magic Mike.
As
my friend wrote his views on the situation he reminded his Facebook friends of
the words of the apostle Paul while writing to the Thessalonians. In the closing chapter of 1 Thessalonians
Paul reminds his readers to “stay away from every form of evil.” The King James translates this passage to mean
“stay away from the appearance of evil.”
While some theologians have a problem with this translation because of
grammatical construction, I tend to like the way one commentator offered a
rendering of it. The author of the UBS
New Testament Handbook Series inferred “one may render this admonition as ‘refuse
to do anything which is evil,’ or ‘refuse to act in any way which even seems
bad.’” This dual meaning of
interpretation covers the gamut of both ends of the spectrum. As Christians we are commanded to not only
abstain from doing inherit evil or wrong as well as anything which would give
an improper perception of evil by others.
As
I look at the situation I am reminded of where many of us are in relation to
our walk with God. For some, going to
see such a film is a no brainer! They do
not care what God thinks because they have no relationship with God. For others they have a relationship with God
but it is what I would call an acquaintance.
They know of God but they do not know Him in an intimate way; therefore,
His opinion carries no weight. Still
others prefer to compartmentalize their life and think they can render unto God
a portion of their heart while maintaining a lifestyle or action which is contrary
to God because they see Him only as a part of their life and not their LIFE. This is a dangerous and destructive ideology
in that Jesus warned His followers that “no man could serve two masters!” (Mt. 6:24)
Others profess to have a relationship with God, cry out to Him, praise
Him, and even seek to serve Him, but fail to understand the importance of a
holy life dedicated to Him. The danger
of such a walk is seen in Psalms 24:3-4 where the psalmist asks, “Who may
ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may
stand in His Holy place? The one who has
clean hands and a pure heart…”
When
we defile our lives with such things, we are pushing away the opportunity to
walk with Christ in a pure and upright relationship, for which we were
designed. The issue at hand this week is a movie called “Magic
Mike.” What will the matter be next
week? If we would settle a greater
matter of importance called the Lordship of Christ then these tertiary issues would
not be of relevance. Whether others are
looking at us in a judgmental tone is not the greater issue for someone will
always sit in judgment of our actions whether pure or improper. The imperative question should be, “How is
Jesus looking at my actions?” My greater
concern must be am I walking in a pure and undefiled relationship with
God! If we would each walk with such an
intention in our heart then the trivial matters of life would be irrelevant.
Pastor
Ric
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