That is what it feels like to be a Christian. It can get pretty doggone hot…. (Especially when you get lumped into the typical mold of American/political/television Christianity…nasty stuff…)
For years, we didn’t drink. We were making a personal choice based on our abuse of alcohol before we were Christians.
We were judged for that choice by Christians and non-Christians alike.
After almost 10 years, we can have a few drinks and we will not lose our minds. Guess what, as a Christian we are judged for that too….by both sides.
We are judged for homeschooling our children. By Christians and non-Christians…
We are judged for using cash. YES…literally looked at like we have 3 heads by bank tellers, cashiers, friends and family. Christian and non-Christian.
We are judged again, if we make a choice to charge for personal reasons.
We are judged by Christians and non-Christians for our movie and tv choices…. Not the most important topic of the times, but I needed to remember for myself why we don’t watch R-rated movies and turn off most PG-13.
When those around you…including Christians, think you are stupid for making certain decisions, you start to wonder and second guess your sanity.
Why we don’t watch R-rated shows and movies….(or 90% of what is offered these days…)
We get the craziest responses from people when we turn down watching a Rated R movie. It is painfully clear what others are thinking. The looks come from all faiths….or lack thereof.
It’s like a marquee sign scrolling through their eyes….”You homeschool, believe in God….your email has a reference to God…OF COURSE you don’t!”
We feel immediate judgment of our choice….”poor, sheltered, legalistic Christian family”.
It is thick in the room….
No one has ever asked us WHY we make this choice. Sometimes I try to explain…but the judgment has already been rendered. They are probably afraid I am going to tell them they are going to hell for watching bad movies…*sigh*.
The subject is quickly diverted in another direction because we are immediately pigeon holed into that category of “radical”, “crazy” and overall “stuffy”.
We also don’t have cable. Now we’ve really done it!! (Of course, having no cable is a Dave Ramsey choice…not our radical religious views, but people jump to that conclusion anyway.)
First of all…. Those of you who have judged us for NOT watching R-rated movies…did you know that we don’t judge you for watching them? We could care less what your choices are.
It’s funny how people judge others for doing something “good”. Such a twisted world….
A few reasons for our media choices:
1) We watched “A History of Violence” in 2005 at the theater and it was great….truly. But they HAD to put the scene where they show them having sex on the stairs. Vividly. It wasn’t necessary to the plot; it didn’t enhance the movie…(as is the case most of the time.) It was just there. I really don’t want to be shocked by scenes like that no matter how great the movie. I hear people talk about similar sentiments all the time….and yet the next movie comes out and the same choices are made.
2) We would absolutely rent more R movies, especially war movies. I can see the reality of cussing in war. I did when I was in the military….I get it. It is normal….it is reality. However, my kids do not need to hear it in the other room at their age. We will probably shift our viewing habits when we are empty nesters. Then again…I kind of like not hearing f*** and G** D*** over and over. It just gets old.
3) I am a strong believer in the “the battlefield of the mind”. Whatever goes in the mind….never truly goes away. Not really. Every little choice of movie, song or television show WILL shape our opinions and views. If a movie can make us feel good…it can also make us feel other things….
4) Just because I have the RIGHT to watch anything I want (even God gives me the go ahead )…It doesn’t mean I should just open the floodgates and let someone else determine what I can’t get out of my thoughts. I get to choose. I have the RIGHT to smoke and eat a Krispy Kreme donut everyday too, but it doesn’t mean it is good for me. When I push play on a Blu-Ray…without knowing what is getting ready to pop up…I willingly give someone else control over my mind. I let someone else choose what is going to get subconsciously lodged there. No thanks.
5) I know the current system isn’t foolproof….but it is pretty doggone accurate. If someone with very little sensitivity to the way God thinks (Hollywood overgeneralization…I know) is going to rate something R…then I can be pretty sure it will not line up with Philippians 4:8. And since we choose to use the Bible as our guide in decision making….it makes since we would try to follow it. We have turned off plenty of PG-13 for the same reason. Rating really doesn’t matter…but it is just easier to follow that, then sift through all the garbage to find the good stuff.
6) The justifying argument is ….”There are so many great R-rated movies out there.” Many that tell a great story….we are told ”these movies are just explaining life and life is hard!” We get that too… If we are told of a movie we should see because it fits the bill. We will watch it. However, I am not going to pick movies at random and choose to spend my money on the unknown. It would be like trying to enjoy Cracker Barrel food out of a dumpster. You many get some great food, great flavor, and great satisfaction….however you would have to take the chance of biting into something rotten. I am just not willing to take the chance. I have more important ways to spend my time than worrying about missing the latest great movie or sitcom.
7) I want to emphasize…this is OUR conviction. I have found I feel things deeply. I internalize them. I am moved to action by what I see and hear. I can drink a couple of drinks while enjoying conversation with friends and it doesn’t change me one way or the other. Some people cannot do that. It is all very personal. I think Jason is not as effected as I am. I am pretty sure he makes different choices when he is deployed than when he is home. He simply respects me enough to wait and watch certain movies when we are not together. I extend the same courtesy to him when it comes to my girly movies!! And we both agree… the language in most of the movies we would want to watch, should not be blasting through the house in our crisp Bose speakers!
Lately, I have seen a lot of movies I REALLY want to watch and I have to talk myself out of it.
I started to forget why we made this choice. I never, never…want to do something just because we always have.
That’s religion and religion can get ugly. I still want to watch the movies….I just choose not to for now.
If I am ever released of this conviction…I am sure I will be judged for that too.
If an American was condemned to confine his activity to his own affairs, he would be robbed of one half of his existence. ~Alexis de Tocqueville
“Caution: The contents of this bottle should not be fed to fish.” — On a bottle of shampoo for dogs.
Laurie
heidicampbellphotography
Army Wives Lives Three Sixty Five 
