The Reason Why God Cares About the Movies We Watch

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Does God really care about the movies we watch?

Does it really matter if a movie or TV show has a little swearing, nudity, or sexual themes in it, as long as the overall message of the movie or show is positive?

One thing I learned early on in adulthood is even when a Christian recommended a movie or TV show, I still had to do my homework.

You see, I was raised with high standards when it comes to the media I consume, and for the most part have kept to those standards as an adult; because I have experienced for myself how grieved my spirit becomes when I entertain myself with those things that grieve and anger God.

Admittedly, my standards are higher than most.

And while I readily admit that personal convictions are just that – personal, there are standards that I believe God expects from every Christian and can be found in the Bible.

Dear sisters, if we can find chapter and verse for biblical standards of living, it is no longer a personal conviction, but an expectation of obedience that comes with great blessing if followed, and great detriment if ignored.

The Reason Why God Cares About the Movies We Watch

Several weeks ago, I wrote a post about why I refuse to watch the movie Redeeming Love. I shared my reasons on YouTube and Facebook, and while I anticipated some pushback, the response was overwhelmingly positive.

But my concern is that many were shocked by movie only because it was marketed as a Christian movie (based on a Christian book by a Christian author) and a retelling of a book of the Bible (albeit heavily distorted).

Had the movie been a mainstream movie, not based on a story of the Bible, I wonder if we would have recoiled as much.

To be sure, it is shocking and repulsive to retell a book of the Bible and include partial nudity, profanity, and sexually explicit scenes – and I truly believe this perhaps angered God on an entirely different level than non-biblical films with these same elements.

But it doesn’t mean that God isn’t angered when we choose to overlook these same elements in our entertainment: books, magazines, movies, TV shows, music, YouTube, and podcasts.

I take this beyond just movies and TV shows, because I am appalled at the amount of filth that can be found on YouTube alone on the most unsuspecting of channels.

Not to mention the fact that I have been forced to unsubscribe to podcasts by self-proclaimed Christians that were filled with horrible profanity.

1. Does profanity in movies really matter – and where do we draw the line?

Where should we draw the line on profanity in movies? If a word has one d*** in it, does it mean we should turn it off?

Is one f-bomb a deal-breaker?

To get the right answer, we have to ask the right question; and I think when we begin asking how close we can get to a boundary line before we’ve crossed over to sin, it exposes a piece of our heart that is, perhaps, not yet surrendered.

I don’t believe the question is how much does God care about one d-word, sh-word, or f-bomb, as much as how eager we are to overlook sin to be entertained.

If we care more about our entertainment than the defilement it brings to our spirit, I believe we have discovered an idol.

What does the Bible say?

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:45 – emphasis mine

Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put perverse lips far from you. Proverbs 4:24

But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Colossians 3:8 – emphasis mine

Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. Ephesians 4:29

Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man. Matthew 15:11

But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. Matthew 12:36

Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit The poison of asps is under their lips; Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Romans 3:13-14

Clearly, the Bible has much to say about profanity, and this is only a small sampling of what the Bible has to say about the tongue.

And while most of these verses deal with us speaking, I purposely put Luke 6:45 first because it reminds us that what we fill our hearts with will eventually comes out of our mouth.

Also, Proverbs 4 clearly commands us to keep “perverse lips” far from us.

My dear sisters, it is one thing when we are out in the world and unable to control what other people say in our hearing, but entirely another when we invite perverse speech into our homes as enjoyment and entertainment.

2. What does God think when our entertainment curses His name?

…the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. Exodus 20:7

For they speak against You wickedly; Your enemies take Your name in vain. Psalm 139:20

You shall not profane My holy name, but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel. I am the LORD who sanctifies you, Leviticus 22:32

God was – and still is – serious when He commanded the children of Israel to keep His name holy among them.

A name back then had more meaning than it does to us today; but this doesn’t mean that God considers it any less serious when we don’t consider His name sacred.

Using God’s name to punctuate our sentences – or even worse, pairing it with profanity, is taking the name that is above every name and of the highest honor and dragging it through feces.

God does not take this lightly.

And when we stand before Him, we will be just as accountable for what we entertained ourselves with as we will be for what we said.

God commanded us to keep His name holy among us, meaning, we are not to allow those among us to profane his name because His name is who He is.

So, to tolerate those in our presence who blaspheme God without reproof is guilt by association.

How much more when the TV show or movie outright mocks God and His people? “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” Galatians 6:7

3. Is God really bothered by nudity and sexually explicit scenes in TV shows and movies?

And what is considered nudity, anyway?

• A man with his shirt off?
• A girl in her underwear?
• A woman’s bare back
• Side boob?

Does it have to be full nudity to count?

And what about sex? Does this mean even innuendo or sexual references? Does it mean heavily making out? Implied sex? Actually portrayed sex? What about if it doesn’t portray fornication or adultery, but sex between a married couple? That’s okay, right?

What does the Bible say?

The Bible answers all of these questions, and even takes this topic to a higher level for us as believers.

To answer this very important question, let us explore “The Law of First Mention”, which is a theological law that looks at the first mention of something in Bible and the context in which it is mentioned.

Nakedness in the Bible is first mentioned in Genesis 3 (so right at the very beginning of time) when Adam and Even partook of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the presence of God was removed from them, which exposed their nakedness.

They were ashamed and hid.

All throughout Scripture, nakedness and nudity are paired with shame.

In Leviticus 18, the children of Israel were commanded not to uncover the nakedness of those around them.

In Habakkuk 2, there is a curse for the person who gets someone drunk to look at their nakedness.

In the Law, God commanded the priests to make sure that they were fully covered before approaching His altar, so that their nakedness wouldn’t be exposed to Him.

In 1 Corinthians, Paul says that there are parts of the body that require greater modesty.

In Hebrews 13:4 says, marriage is precious and the marriage bed should not be defiled.

Furthermore, the Bible is replete with verses on fornication and adultery: Exodus 20:14, Leviticus 20:10, Deuteronomy 5:18, 2 Corinthians 12:21, Galatian 5:19, Ephesians 5:3, and Colossians 3:5 are a miniscule sampling of God’s command against fornication and adultery.

But Jesus took all of this to a new level in Matthew 5:27-30, when he said that committing adultery isn’t just getting between the sheets with someone who is not your spouse.

Adultery can be committed in our heart when we look on someone with lust in our hearts.

And let’s just be all the way honest, shall we?

Rarely (and by rarely, I mean almost never) do we see portrayals of married sex in TV shows and movies. Am I right?

But even if that was the norm, and not the exception, would it make it right?

Absolutely not! It is still defiling the marriage bed by making what God meant to be a holy union enjoyed only between the married couple and Him, and inviting a third party in for a viewing.

This is a perversion of what is holy, and it offends God when we make it our entertainment.

God is very serious about taking what He has declared holy and defiling it by not cherishing it to the degree that He cherishes it, and by not keeping it consecrated.

If there is any doubt about how God deals with the desecration of what is holy, please read the entire Old Testament, because all throughout the Old Testament, we see how God dealt with this.

4. Is God offended by violence in movies?

I believe the Bible speaks for itself when it clearly commands “You shall not murder”; and then goes on throughout the rest of the Law to set clear, concise laws about violence, assault, battery, abuse, and other forms of violence.

Even in war movies, violence often crosses the line of history into the territory of gratuitous violence; and this grieves God.

My dear sisters, when we begin overlooking those things that God has clearly commanded us to remove from our lives and use them for entertainment, a callous begins forming on our heart.

And while we may try to excuse our favorite TV show, movie, podcaster, YouTuber, or author by saying, “Well, it was just one scene or one word”, this is like overlooking a little bit of poop in our food or drink.

Even a little bit of poop makes the entire meal inedible!

Even a little bit of sin makes the entire TV show, movie, or book not fit for consumption, because it will defile our spirit.

After a while, the swearing, profaning God’s name, nudity, sexual portrayals, and violence no longer seem as shocking as they once did.

If left unchecked, we no longer even realize they are there.

Our spiritual senses grow dull as our tolerance for sin grows and our resistance to the voice of the Holy Spirit increases.

I will leave you today with a quote from my dad who writes at Foundational:

“The degree to which you walk in the anointing of God is in direct proportion to the amount of darkness you allow into your life.”