Uninvited House Guests
In my recent post “Invite C.S. Lewis Over” (read it here), I shared how we can actually spend time today with this great thinker…simply by making time to read his books.
I regularly invite C.S. Lewis into my home when I buy and read his books. But this same concept works in reverse. There are many thinkers and creatives I won’t allow in my home.
I wouldn’t invite guests in my home to act out explicit scenes of violence or sex, so why would I watch movies with actors playing out those scenes on my screen? I wouldn’t pay a music artist to come to my family room and sing raunchy lyrics. So why would I let their lyrics enter my mind through earbuds or speakers? Why would you?
Many try to rationalize these choices. “Yes, it was edgy, but it’s a great song to dance or work out to. And that movie had a few scenes that crossed the line, but it was so well acted and the cinematography was amazing.”
Really? Are well-crafted plots and catchy lyrics all it takes for us to allow garbage into our homes and minds? When did we rationalize entertainment that constantly pushes every boundary God has set? And how long will we embrace edgy as good before we fall off the edge of that cliff?
God offers a better standard. One that applies to the art we watch…and create.
You’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. (Philippians 4:8 MSG)
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