Saturday, July 24, 2010

The Book of Eli

I am much too tired to wax biblical for too long tonight.
But there is an amazing thing going on in Hollywood and the world of entertainment. The Blind Side and the Book of Eli are evidence of that. So many huge names and they're making Christian movies. As rough and base as the Book of Eli is, it is a Christian film. You see, the thing about Christian films is we don't know how to do grit. We don't do violence and sin, there's always a coating of sugar over our greatest efforts. Why? Because we feel it's wrong. Even in One Night With the King Esther wasn't performing the usual duties one in her position would be expected to perform. No. All she did was read. In Fireproof, there we didn't see the ugliest side of adultery. As true to life as it was....it was still candy-coated. But Hollywood knows how to do the gritty, nasty, truth of sin and they aren't ashamed to do it.
So many people complain about the secular studios and publishing companies churning out Christian fare, well, hello.....somebody's gotta do. Christian movies have certainly come along, technically, but even if we have fancy HD cameras and green screens and effects we're usually dealing with poor scripting or directing or (heaven help me) acting. Why is that? Might I ask? If we are God's children, we is our work inferior? It shouldn't be. But we shrugged it off (all the while watching things we ought not) and let the unbelievers take charge, because how important could it be?
It is so important that it is shaping our society. What our children see is what they spin. And maybe you guard what your children watch and you homeschool and you're careful about who they make friends with.....but eventually they have to step outside and when they do they will be unprepared for the world of sin just outside their door. A world of sin that we stood by and allowed to be created, that we helped create by our own choices...when we went to the theater and bought magazines and purchased books and bought DVDs and chose certain shows when we thought no one was looking.
It's that important.
And now we're trying to play catch up.
But God is doing an amazing thing, even if Hollywood doesn't understand it.
How many times in the Bible does God use the heathen nations for the sake of the Jews? The Chaldeans, the Egyptians, all of the "ites" He moved them for the sake of His children. And he's doing it today. He's meeting the unbelievers where they're at, planting seeds in ways we wouldn't imagine because we're so stuck in our good, clean mindsets (which yes, is a good thing, but not when making films to witness).
People who would never watch a Christian film will sit down and watch The Blind Side or The Book of Eli (I know because I sat with my father to watch it.).
I hope I'm making sense, so tired.
It was a dark and beautiful and shocking film. It was rich in texture and color and beauty in the darkness.  The directing was spot on. The acting was phenomenal.
You may disagree, but I believe God's hand was on that film. If you doubt me...open your Bible, it isn't without violence and grit.
I will probably have to buy the movie.
It really convicted me of....my lack of conviction. It humbled me.
LORD forgive me for not cherishing your WORD as it deserves, for it is holy and true.
To bed now.

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