The entertainment of darkness

Beach and I were able to go out on a date to the movies, complete with popcorn (I let Beach talk me into a large - big mistake)! We had been holding on to a gift card for almost a year and had not been able to cash it in till now.  I think the last time we went to a movie was when I was pregnant with Zoe, yes, four years ago.

I was excited to be there with my man, but a different feeling came over me once the previews began.  A complete and utter heartbreak.  The preview was for a movie that seemed to be geared towards teen/young adults and it was so sexualized and dark.  At least I thought so.  I'm not sure our culture would agree but I know my savior would.

The movie we were seeing was rated PG-13 so I think the preview was for the same. The things is, when I was a teen, I watched R-rated movies without a thought.  Went to the theater to see them even.  I don't really remember my mom disapproving of this or ever talking to me about it (sorry mom if you did - you know my memory).  It was normal, just something to do.  I watched whatever whenever.  

Then I went to CIU, where one of the "standards" at the time was no R-rated movies.  The rule follower part of me obliged, it wasn't that big of a deal when there was so many other things to do (and so many other standards that were harder for me).  The Lord did a huge amount of work on my life and heart the four years while I was there, and I kept the R-rated standard for myself, as I grew to understand the impact of what I fill my mind and soul.

It hasn't always been the easiest thing to do when I was renting movies with friends and had to slip that in there or leave a place that wasn't watching something that I knew was edifying.  And I'm sure I have seen a historical movie or two, like Schindler's List, with such a rating since then.

For the most part, though, this has been a very good thing but I have come to see how sheltered I am now.  We have never had cable and the network shows I do watch are mostly reality TV (I know, I'm one of those).  There is not as much of the harshness in So You Think You Can Dance and The Biggest Looser.  We do have Nexflix, which is a blessing.  However, recently when I watched a couple of the shows I have heard people talk about, I turned them off quickly, appalled, not even realizing that such filth was able to be shown.

It breaks my heart, for our culture and world.  Mostly who would just defend their right to watch such filth, not knowing how it tears at their soul.  Even more so for my children, the messages they will get, and even though I can protect them now, this will not always be the case.  As they grow they will have opportunities to make their own decisions (with much discussion of course).  This does scare me.  How I pray that they will guard their hearts as the Lord continues to show me how I need to guard mine.