rMag

The High Cost of Low Standards

Daniel Knudsen

Hollywood is often associated with dreams; it is the industry of make believe and happily ever after. The machine that advertises and markets lifestyle, both to the American public and the world 24/7, has never been so effective. However, in this wonderful world of dreams lives a nightmare of reality. Despite the allure, worshiping idols and serving false gods has its costs.

Fame that can get you everything (except a life worth living); people who have it all: fame, money, and power, yet in spite of it all don’t have a life worth living – the silver screen is a far cry from what ends up being the story of real life. On screen, sin is glamorized and often has only rewarding consequences. Highly dysfunctional families and relationships may provide a lot of on-screen entertainment to a watching world, but in reality they never are enjoyed.

Sadly, not only has the Hollywood façade damaged many, but it has also made many of God’s children dissatisfied with a life devoted to serving Him. Christians – especially young Christians – have been caught up in the illusion that the world can satisfy their needs and desires. We are often convinced that if we can only have “one more thing” we will be happy and content. Tolerating a bit of “evil” to enjoy a bit of “good” still leaves people dissatisfied. Satan’s tactics have changed little since the Garden of Eden. He still uses subtle inconsistencies to create desires that destroy our relationship with God.

The most dangerous movies are not just the morally repugnant trash, however, but also the films that teach subtle anti-God world views. These movies try to convince us that we can have a wonderful life without God, based on the lives of the fictional characters in the story. It is easy for us to succumb to these deceptions and overlook the elements of movies that mock God and teach wrong principles. It is the “good” evil that confuses people. Rich Christiano, the director of Time Changer, stated that:

I know this sounds weird but I almost feel like that it would better if there were just X-rated films and Christian movies and no in between. It’s the stuff in the middle that fools everyone. Rather be hot or cold, right? 1

In real life most people do not want to be evil, but they also do not want to say no to small compromises. They believe the celluloid promise of the good life, but never end up receiving what it pledged. How many times, for instance, have we seen a movie with an immoral character who meets the one he is destined for, marries, remains faithful, and lives happily ever after? It works right well in the movies, but it never works that way in real life. Contrary to the messages in so many of these movies, nurturing promiscuity does not result in genuine love. Just like most advertisements, they show you what you could have, but rarely show you how much it will cost. Out of all the people I’ve met from all different walks of life, I’ve never met anyone who enjoyed their divorce. Giving up what you really believe bit by bit for amusement will leave you bankrupt. We must heed King Solomon’s admonishment to “keep our hearts with all diligence….” 2

Take, for instance, the movie The Young Black Stallion. The film had some beautiful aesthetic elements but it also had some theological errors. In the story a young girl directly disobeys her grandfather, proves him wrong, and is rewarded for it. Her disrespectful actions toward her grandfather were made attractive. In movies this may work out but in real life breaking the fifth commandment has consequences.

Some of these messages are better hidden than others, but the message is still destructive. We can clearly see the impact this kind of deceitful message has had on the last two generations. Broken homes and broken families are becoming the norm, not the exception. We see this not only outside the church but inside the church as well. Children disobeying parents and students disrespecting teachers have become part of a nation with decaying moral fabric.

This kind of message is more than just a negative influence on culture: it hinders our land from God’s blessing. Jeremiah 23:10 addresses this specifically:

For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right.

There are always cheap ways to sell entertainment: cursing God’s name, brutal violence, immorality, and exalting wrong behavior – these are all predominating themes in most films today. This has been eroding the Christian foundation in our land by lowering the standard of good, and advertising new lows of evil.

With Hollywood and the rest of the culture seeking to influence us to conform to their mold, we as Christians must recognize that our home is a battleground between good and evil; a battle for the hearts and minds of both our peers, our children, and ourselves.

We may not be able to control what they show in the theaters or what is on television, but we do control what we watch in our own home. As Christians we ultimately have something much better than what Hollywood can offer: everyday we have an opportunity to be engaged in a real battle between good and evil, a battle for the hearts and minds of men and women. This battle is not just for an hour and a half on the screen with a few moments of victory – it is a lifelong battle with choices that will last for all of eternity.

Seeking true values may not be a fad but it will never go out of style.

1 Rich Christiano at the 2004 San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival in a speech given on Christian film making.
2 Proverbs 4:23