The Sad Situation of 'Fifty Shades of Grey'

The release of "Fifty Shades of Grey" in theaters the day before Valentine's Day sends a disturbing message about love.

Of course, I don't expect non-believing, Christ-defying writers and movie makers and advertisers to avoid promoting sexual exploitation--if there's a profit to be made, the sad mixture of free enterprise and sexual chaos in our day is going to result in grim effects like "Fifty Shades."  Not surprised.

But sad, and grieved.

And yet always looking to Christ with hope.  Followers of Jesus, let's PRAY that our ingenious Lord would accomplish all kinds of good and God-honoring things in his round-about ways through this sorrowful situation (Genesis 50:20).

Here are a few thoughtful comments about "Fifty Shades":

• Owen Strachan:  "50 Shades of Grey speaks to where things are headed in our culture. We should not expect that postmodernism will protect women. It will do no such thing. We should not expect that it will ennoble men and call them to self-sacrificial responsibility. It will do no such thing. We should not expect that postmodernism will bless children and strengthen the family. It will do no such thing."
• Tim Challies and Helen Thorne:  "As 50 Shades of Grey hits the screens, let’s love God well by honoring him wholeheartedly with our eyes, ears, hearts and minds. Let’s love our brothers and sisters well by encouraging them with truth rather than lies. Let’s love our unbelieving neighbors by showing them how beautiful and alluring purity looks. And let’s love ourselves by committing ourselves wholeheartedly to living in light of the immense love that has been lavished on us. “See what a great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1)."
• Marshall Segal:  "The message that sex is selfish, manipulative, and even playfully violent will abuse and violate you. It might feel like a fun and harmless fantasy, but it’s not so subtly redefining the power and beauty of sex, creating spiritual blockages in your heart that will eventually kill you, and impairing your ability to enjoy real and lasting pleasure."
• Kevin DeYoung:  "There is nothing gray about whether a follower of Christ should see 50 Shades of Grey. This is a black and white issue. Don’t go. Don’t watch it. Don’t read it. Don’t rent it."

Summer Challenges

It’s almost June now—a fine time to check and see if we’re really ready for all that summer brings.  I don’t mean ready with sun-screen or a new BBQ grill, but with spiritual resolve to grow strong in Jesus during this odd season called summertime.  Here are several challenges:

• Don’t "bail" on the church—you need your church family and they need you all year round.  Baseball is seasonal; so are garden­ing and golf and raking leaves.  But being the body of Christ isn’t seasonal.
• Don’t take a vacation from your routine spiritual practice—from reading Scripture carefully (with your own Bible, pen in hand) and responding to God’s Word through prayer.  Summer’s disruptions make it all the more crucial to stay close to Jesus.  The rest of the year our more regular schedules help us keep our bearings and stay on track:  we’re creatures of habit.  But summer throws us a curve.  So brace yourself, and make plans now so that shifting schedules don’t stifle your walk with Christ.
• Make your decisions about what to wear this summer with the good of others in mind.  Your own style preferences or whatever’s the current fashion are hardly the guiding standards.  Gals, your brothers in Christ will be grateful if you choose modesty.
• The flipside of that topic is guarding your eyes and directing your vision away from lustful gazing.  Jesus doesn’t buy excuses like “Boys will be boys” or “I couldn’t help it” (Matthew 5:27-30).  Commit your eyes to honoring the Lord (Job 31:1).
• In an article on the “Summer Mindset,” John Piper counsels all who yearn for R&R:  “Jesus Christ is refreshing.  Flight from him into Christless leisure makes the soul parched…  Don’t let sum­mer make your soul shrivel.”  This is God’s good earth.  “But it is all prelude to the real drama of heaven.  It is a foretaste of the real banquet.”  The heavenly city “has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Rev 21:23).  “The summer sun is a mere pointer to the sun that will be.  The glory of God.  Summer is for seeing and showing that.  Will we have eyes to see?  Do you want to have eyes to see?  Lord, let us see the light beyond the light."

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Summer Struggles

Now that we’re into the thick of summer, I encourage you to be on the lookout for certain temptations that come with the season.

For one, there’s the unspoken but pervasive pressure to let your priority on church involvement slide due to summer’s special attrac­tions: away at the shore, on vacation, gone camping, off to see relatives, going to a game, etc. Of course, it’s good to get a break—we all need it. And it’s good to keep up with loved ones living far away. But a reasonable summer break can quickly morph into a vanishing act in which your church family hardly gets a glimpse of you. Don’t shrug off the church this season; the body needs you and you need the body all year round!

Another trap along the trail has to do with summer apparel. Are you prepared to glorify the Lord by dressing with modesty and discretion? Modesty may not always be the top fashion, but if you mean business about following Jesus, then there will be more important things than conforming to trends. People who want to grow deeper in trust toward Christ find it a great relief when those around them don’t make their bodies “exhibit A.” So ask God to search your heart (Ps 139:23-24): deep down, are you trying to catch other people’s attention through your summer style? And a related question (especially for guys): are you prepared to honor the Lord this summer in the way you use your eyes—and do you realize that “just looking” isn’t just looking (Matt 5:28)? Fix the eyes of your heart on Jesus (Heb 12:2) for true satisfaction!

A third summer threat is the tidal wave that can wipe out your devotional life. Predictable schedules in other seasons encourage consistency of spiritual practices (e.g., Bible reading, prayer, fasting, meditation): we’re creatures of habit, and that has its advantages. But summer rolls in and regular patterns are thrown to the wind as we dive into so much “enrichment.” I hope you have a very refreshing summer. But don’t lose your bearings: first things first. Plan ahead and build protected “space” into your schedule (including time for the family together) so your spiritual life can flourish. You can’t afford to put spiritual life on hold for a season!

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Brazen Lies

The Bible is crystal clear that Satan is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). In fact, one of the Enemy’s nicknames is “the deceiver” (Rev 12:9), and he’s ready and eager to launch all kinds of disinformation in your direc­tion. Through deceptive propaganda, Satan promotes all kinds of insidious falsehoods. Imagine what some of his grand lies might be:

· “There is no God” [but see Gen 1:1; Ps 14:1; 53:1].

· “‘The devil’ isn’t real” [Matt 4:1-11; 1 Pet 5:8-9].

· “You’re worthless” [Gen 1:27; Ps 8:5; 1 Cor 6:19-20].

· “You have to work harder to get God to love you” [Rom 5:8].

· “This life is all there is” [Matt 25:46; John 3:16; 1 Cor 15:19].

· “Busy-ness is good—go, go, go” [Ps 46:10; Matt 11:28-30].

· “Prayer is a waste of time—not productive” [Luke 11:8; Jas 5:16].

· “If you suffer, God’s failing to do his job” [Gen 50:20; Rom 8:28].

What about some of Satan’s lies related to finances:

· “You need more money to be happy” [Heb 13:5; Phil 4:6, 11].

· “The more you make, the more you should elevate your lifestyle” [Eph 4:28; 2 Cor 8:2; 9:7].

· “Wealthy people are more important than others” [Luke 16:19-31].

· “You’re the true owner of all your possessions” [Ps 24:1; 50:10-12].

How about in connection with sexuality:

· “No harm just looking” [Mt 5:27-30; 6:22-23; Job 31:1; Prov 6:25].

· “If everyone else is doing it, it must be okay” [Matt 7:13-14].

· “Sex before marriage is no big deal” [1 Cor 6:9; 1 Thess 4:3-5].

And in the area of outreach and evangelism:

· “No need to talk about Jesus, just be kind” [1 Pet 3:15; Mt 28:18-20].

· “Sharing your faith is rude” [Acts 8:30-38; 16:31; 17:16-33].

Let’s pray for discernment so we’re not taken in by Satan’s deadly lies!

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Sports Illustrated Sorrow

February is a sad season in the sporting world as it is the time for the annual Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.

Of course, many would find this description jarring: sad? Who's sad? I'm sure millions of Americans greet the arrival of this publication with glee. A couple Februarys ago I remember a sketch on Letterman in which he chased the magazine delivery truck down the road, giddy to get his hands on the swimsuit issue ASAP.

But I say "sad" because this is the time when it's most vividly clear and "in your face" before the world that profit-driven people exploit sexual longings to increase their revenue. More than that, this is the moment when it's most obvious that sexually charged photos are finding a home in (what has been considered) mainstream media and not just in the shadowy world of adult book stores.

A news feature the other day showed a jet airliner with a huge image of a swimsuit model's body painted on the plane. It's pretty obvious there are a lot of people deeply invested in SI and CNN and various sports franchises and ad campaigns (etc.) who're working feverishly to get us all to accept the idea that gazing at near-nude swimsuit girls should be considered just one more form of innocent visual entertainment--just a little eye candy, nothing more...

Of course, among those profit-driven souls are the models who take their clothes off for SI. This is the saddest part of all: young women taught to separate themselves from their bodies, and to sell the sight of their flesh for visual consumption. I'm sure the pressure on these young women is tremendous--to be chosen for the SI swimsuit cover must be a mark of spectacular success in one's modeling career, a doorway to lucrative opportunities to be stared at yet more in the future. And I suspect many beautiful young women would find a certain comfort and ego boost in being the focus of hungry eyes--to be wanted, to be special (would they add, "to be loved"?).

TV morning show hosts this week were snickering about the infamous magazine in their "news" reports. The release of the swimsuit issue was given top story status alongside the latest on Australia's wild fires and President Obama's economic bailout plans. What's wrong with this picture?

Well, that's the world we live in. It makes me sad.

Some may think I'm "prudish" or that I don't want red-blooded men to have a little fun. The truth is, I want them to have the fullest, enduring satisfaction God has to give, a joy far deeper than the thrill of gawking at swimsuit beauties. I speak not only of the God-intended delights of sexual fulfillment within marriage, but ultimately of eternal joy in the company of the all-glorious, all-satisfying Christ.

The sad side of February reminds me that, as C. S. Lewis put it in "The Weight of Glory," we are far too easily pleased: "Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling around with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea."

May the Lord, in his powerful grace, grant that many--millions--would look past the eye candy this February and instead find true joy in the worship of Christ!

"One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple."

(Psalm 27:4, ESV)

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