Blasphemy and Movies

So I was reading from a John Macarthur day to day devotional I received a few weeks ago. The devotion for the other day really struck a nerve.

It said "Everything we do, think, say and communicate is a reflection on the name of God, since we have been called by His name and wear it as our chief identity. When are you most likely to forget that you bear the name of Christ, that you carry the responsibility for doing nothing to defame or discredit it?"

As I thought about that I think most people forget that they bear the name of Christ is when we watch movies that blaspheme our Lord's precious and holy name. They go about watching movies and paying to see movies even though they know it will have the blasphemy in it. Sometimes they don't even care. Entertainment is more important.

Have you ever thought about what our Lord would think if He was here and saw us watching that??

But God is all knowing so he knows you are doing that. You can't hide it from Him. And I'm sure he has a very sad look on His face wondering why in the world would my children give money and take part in something that blasphemes my name which is breaking one of the 10 commandments. Blasphemy is something that God tells us we shouldn't do. So we don't do it. Alright that's good. But how is listening to someone else blaspheme any better. It isn't.

Romans 1:32 says "and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them."

See even though we don't blaspheme ourselves we are giving hearty approval of the actors and actresses that do blaspheme because we are watching those movies that have it in it, buying the Dvd's, and seeing the movies in the theaters.

Did you ever look at it that way?

Now I've dealt with this issue myself in the past so I'm not saying I'm perfect or I've always had this point of view. But after many times reading that verse and having long conversations with my dad who first felt this way and I am currently not watching any movies that have blasphemy. Although I do struggle with this from time to time with certain movies I used to really enjoy watching when I was younger.

You ask "What about TV?"

Well I don't have an issue with that because we don't have television. No cable or anything at all. We just use a television to watch family movies. We use to have some DVD's with blasphemy in them but those have been thrown away.

Another thing that I feel strongly about is the type of movies believers should watch. I know I might be a rare case but I hold my convictions strongly. It is against my conscience to watch any rated R movie. To watch rated R movies would be sin for me. I've never seen a rated R movie and I never want to. I've only seen 9 PG-13 movies and I don't think I want to see any more PG-13 movies either. Why watch movies that have a stronger rating when they are just going to be filled with more of the things that our Lord would not want us to watch? Again it is our desire to be entertained that is more important than our own Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I have had to stand for my convictions of not watching those movies a couple of times. One time was for a college class. My professor wanted us to watch the movie Crash for our final and it was an English movie. What does a rated R movie like Crash have anything to do with English I would like to know. Nothing. So I told him I could not watch the movie for my final and he's like "Why?" I told him because of my strong beliefs that I shouldn't watch those movies. He said "You shouldn't stick your head in the sand like an ostrich." I told him I wasn't and that I couldn't watch because of my religious beliefs. He saw that I wouldn't be swayed.. He told me that he would have to talk to his boss about what alternative I could do. He came back with an answer to me after I had to ask him again. He said I could write a paper about something if I really didn't want to sit in class and go to the TLC lab to do my paper while they watched the movie. I said "Thank you." I took the paper and left the class. God blessed me that I didn't watch that movie and stood for my convictions. Thankfully my professor gave me an B on the paper and a B for the class. :)

So I strongly ask you my friends to ask yourself this question.

"What is more important to you? Endless hours of pleasing you and most likely blaspheming our Lord or is Christ more important in your life. I hope I am not sounding harsh but I felt that God had laid this on my heart to share with you and I just want you to at least think about it.

Thanks so much.