justonevoice
10-11-2006, 02:28 AM
CHRISTIAN DESENSITIZATION
by Shirley Scurlock
CHRISTIAN LIVING
In our city, a policeman was shot and killed. I walked into a local convenience store and every one there was chatting about the officer and his family and how terrible it was. While they picked up chips and pop, they looked around and shook their heads but continued on their way.
Recently, a little girl was abducted, assaulted, and murdered. We all called it horrid and despicable but we continue doing whatever we do and no one mourns. A trail of little girls has followed since then and yet we do not moan. Yes I said moan. We as Christians see the horrid things done on earth and still they don’t seem as bad as the fantasy we see on TV. Watching the violence portrayed on TV has desensitized us to reality.
In reality, people are raped, murdered, abused, and cut asunder. On TV we watch this kind of behavior as entertainment. What’s wrong with us? We as Christians should be sickened by these things. We should be shocked beyond belief when a policeman is shot down in our streets, but we're not and we barely skip a beat as we travel to the movie store to buy more of the same. We turn on the cable TV in our bedrooms and are entertained by masked murderers creeping in the night. We are excited by the fear in the eyes of the person being pursued in the movie and we feed on it. We feed on the fear of some unknown pretender to the point that it has lost its natural affect on us.
There is a natural fear that God built into us that, as scientists say, gives us the "fight or flight" ability--an extra burst of strength that seems out of the ordinary. Then there is a spiritual fear that is not of God. Many folks have indulged in horror movies to the point where they now have an ungodly spiritual fear. They are afraid to get into a car after dark all alone, or they think there is someone behind them all the time. Then when good horror flick comes on, they are right there to watch it and they wonder where the fear comes from.
As Christians we should mourn before the Lord that such horrible things happen on our watch, but what are we watching? We should be watching unto prayer. We should be seeking God to bring real change in the world around us but we see nothing wrong really, after all it is the same behavior that keeps us tuned in on Saturday night, and we don’t even see that the violence induces a strange hardness in our hearts.
When I read what happened to this little innocent I broke down in tears and my heart could hardly bear it. Personally I was ashamed that I was not moved more to prayer when she disappeared.
Movies and TV shows portray these things and manifold hundreds flock to watch the sin sick attack and murder the innocent while the world puts the cash in their pockets. How many policemen have been shot to death in the movies while some sick gunman laughs? Oh yes, we were for the good guys but while we watched the violence, it changed our hearts!
No, we are not intrinsically evil. No, we are not like those who have shed innocent blood, but we are like warriors being gently rocked to sleep. We sit in a fog unaware that the battle is raging in our own living rooms. We calm our convictions by reminding ourselves that this violence is unreal and no one is really being hurt at all, but in reality this violence numbs our spirit, so that we more easily accept the violence around us.
We entertain our children with cartoons who shoot, maim, and stab each other. The games they have to play are too violent for the violent and yet our children play them at their pleasure and we wonder why kids walk into schools with guns blaring. It’s a movie! It’s their movie! It’s a reenacted fight scene and they have put themselves in it.
As Christians, we need to shake ourselves from our sleep. We need to rise up like a mighty army against the terror that flies by night and the arrow that flies in the noon day. No, I don't mean to take up arms and march through the streets, but we can stand against what the enemy propagates and raise the standard of Christian living for the world to see. We can stop being entertained by murder and mayhem. We can speak out against violence on TV and movies, letting the world know that this is unacceptable behavior for those who know the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.
How can we spend one dollar of the blessings God has given us to watch the portrayal of rape or murder. How then are we different from the Roman crowds which filled the coliseums to watch men and women thrown to their deaths? Yes, I know, those who were thrown to the lions were real and this is pretend, but the premise is the same. Like them, we are entertaining ourselves by watching the torture of another human being. Today we crowd into theaters, munch on pop corn and drink sodas while the chain saws roar or bullets pierce human flesh. Or perhaps we just rent the movie, relax in bed and have a snack while the bloodshed ensues. This is entertainment!
How do we distinguish ourselves from the world? What is the difference between the lost and the saved man or woman? We who know the Lord have been changed. He comes in and changes our hearts and minds, and the things we once loved; we now hate, and the things we hated we now love. We actually believe that Jesus Christ comes to live within us, making our life His abode. Can we believe that Jesus is entertained by this kind of portrayal? Couldn’t we safely assume that this would grieve Him? Then perhaps that uncomfortable feeling we get, is actually Jesus letting us know He don’t like the movie!
by Shirley Scurlock
CHRISTIAN LIVING
In our city, a policeman was shot and killed. I walked into a local convenience store and every one there was chatting about the officer and his family and how terrible it was. While they picked up chips and pop, they looked around and shook their heads but continued on their way.
Recently, a little girl was abducted, assaulted, and murdered. We all called it horrid and despicable but we continue doing whatever we do and no one mourns. A trail of little girls has followed since then and yet we do not moan. Yes I said moan. We as Christians see the horrid things done on earth and still they don’t seem as bad as the fantasy we see on TV. Watching the violence portrayed on TV has desensitized us to reality.
In reality, people are raped, murdered, abused, and cut asunder. On TV we watch this kind of behavior as entertainment. What’s wrong with us? We as Christians should be sickened by these things. We should be shocked beyond belief when a policeman is shot down in our streets, but we're not and we barely skip a beat as we travel to the movie store to buy more of the same. We turn on the cable TV in our bedrooms and are entertained by masked murderers creeping in the night. We are excited by the fear in the eyes of the person being pursued in the movie and we feed on it. We feed on the fear of some unknown pretender to the point that it has lost its natural affect on us.
There is a natural fear that God built into us that, as scientists say, gives us the "fight or flight" ability--an extra burst of strength that seems out of the ordinary. Then there is a spiritual fear that is not of God. Many folks have indulged in horror movies to the point where they now have an ungodly spiritual fear. They are afraid to get into a car after dark all alone, or they think there is someone behind them all the time. Then when good horror flick comes on, they are right there to watch it and they wonder where the fear comes from.
As Christians we should mourn before the Lord that such horrible things happen on our watch, but what are we watching? We should be watching unto prayer. We should be seeking God to bring real change in the world around us but we see nothing wrong really, after all it is the same behavior that keeps us tuned in on Saturday night, and we don’t even see that the violence induces a strange hardness in our hearts.
When I read what happened to this little innocent I broke down in tears and my heart could hardly bear it. Personally I was ashamed that I was not moved more to prayer when she disappeared.
Movies and TV shows portray these things and manifold hundreds flock to watch the sin sick attack and murder the innocent while the world puts the cash in their pockets. How many policemen have been shot to death in the movies while some sick gunman laughs? Oh yes, we were for the good guys but while we watched the violence, it changed our hearts!
No, we are not intrinsically evil. No, we are not like those who have shed innocent blood, but we are like warriors being gently rocked to sleep. We sit in a fog unaware that the battle is raging in our own living rooms. We calm our convictions by reminding ourselves that this violence is unreal and no one is really being hurt at all, but in reality this violence numbs our spirit, so that we more easily accept the violence around us.
We entertain our children with cartoons who shoot, maim, and stab each other. The games they have to play are too violent for the violent and yet our children play them at their pleasure and we wonder why kids walk into schools with guns blaring. It’s a movie! It’s their movie! It’s a reenacted fight scene and they have put themselves in it.
As Christians, we need to shake ourselves from our sleep. We need to rise up like a mighty army against the terror that flies by night and the arrow that flies in the noon day. No, I don't mean to take up arms and march through the streets, but we can stand against what the enemy propagates and raise the standard of Christian living for the world to see. We can stop being entertained by murder and mayhem. We can speak out against violence on TV and movies, letting the world know that this is unacceptable behavior for those who know the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.
How can we spend one dollar of the blessings God has given us to watch the portrayal of rape or murder. How then are we different from the Roman crowds which filled the coliseums to watch men and women thrown to their deaths? Yes, I know, those who were thrown to the lions were real and this is pretend, but the premise is the same. Like them, we are entertaining ourselves by watching the torture of another human being. Today we crowd into theaters, munch on pop corn and drink sodas while the chain saws roar or bullets pierce human flesh. Or perhaps we just rent the movie, relax in bed and have a snack while the bloodshed ensues. This is entertainment!
How do we distinguish ourselves from the world? What is the difference between the lost and the saved man or woman? We who know the Lord have been changed. He comes in and changes our hearts and minds, and the things we once loved; we now hate, and the things we hated we now love. We actually believe that Jesus Christ comes to live within us, making our life His abode. Can we believe that Jesus is entertained by this kind of portrayal? Couldn’t we safely assume that this would grieve Him? Then perhaps that uncomfortable feeling we get, is actually Jesus letting us know He don’t like the movie!