A Response to Aaron: Wise as Serpents and Innocent as Doves

Hey, Aaron.

My response will be in two parts:

• Part 1 - What about your approach I wasn’t entirely “on board” with

• And Part 2 - What about your approach I stand in agreement with

Here we go!

Vulgarity Equals Exclusion?

So, I felt you were a little too general about the sort of films/media we shouldn’t “watch with Jesus.”

To me, it was too black and white.

You talk about “sinful media,” but what makes the media sinful?

Is it the inclusion of sex, violence, and swearing?

If so, then large parts of the Bible would need to be removed because they contain these things.

Obviously the Bible is not sinful because, despite containing some intense passages, it uses its content to point the reader back to Jesus.

Of course, media by non-Christians doesn’t overtly do this.

At the same time, however, I think of Martin Scorsese’s very explicit (and totally NOT appropriate for families) The Wolf of Wall Street. A film that uses obscenely explicit themes and imagery to discourage viewers from going down a similar path.

The film’s “de-romanticization” of such expletives is not unlike the disillusionment experienced by the biblical “party boy” we know today as the Prodigal Son.

I’d encourage others to look at the larger picture. Does the movie glorify explicit themes, calling what is wrong right? Then don’t watch it with Jesus.

Or does it make use of those themes to promote a message that, though flawed, can push people ever so slightly towards the Way of Jesus?

Art is a complex thing, so let’s be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. 

Areas of Overlap

You were right in quoting Matthew 6v22-23 and Philippians 4v8-9. 

Your use of these verses made me think of Paul’s words in Romans 12v2: 

Nothing is more important or valuable than formation into the person of Jesus and being in a relationship with Him.

“Non-Christian” media, if we’re not careful, can easily become an obstacle to that.

Though I’m a massive fan of the arts, they’re not worth it if they undermine my relationship with Jesus.

You’re also right that desensitization is a real issue for many of us. We need to realize that the things we give our attention to, big and small, shape us. Only with such an awareness and discipline can I recommend engaging with any kind of media. 

When it’s all said and done, it seems to me that we approached this topic from different angles.

You appear more prone to emphasizing how this media can lead us away from Jesus. I, on the other hand, seem more prone to emphasizing how we can encounter Him in it.

Both are true and important. To neglect one while overemphasizing the other is not the answer. Instead, we must learn to exist in that gray space of balance and discernment.

So thank you for your helpful reminders, Aaron, and I hope in the same way I was able to find value in your words that you could find something similar in mine.

Until next time,

be blessed.

Jon,

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