The Christian Should Become and Active Reader and Movie Watcher
(This is Part 4 of a series, you can find Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 in earlier posts.)
The Christian is a resident alien. His/her citizenship is in heaven (Col 3:1, Eph 2:19). But, they have been sent into the world to engage the world (in the world…not of the world…but for the world). Therefore, the Christian needs to understand the world and its thinking. Since story is such a powerful (and subversive) tool of persuasion and communication, we need to be active readers of the world’s literature, and active watchers of the worlds shows, plays, and movies.
Let me share a couple of scenes from NBC’s Parenthood. The show centers around the extended family of four siblings and their parents. This episode explorers the relational conflict that unmet expectations create. In this episode, the whole extended family is going on a post-Christmas road-trip to visit the father’s 86 year old mother for her birthday. He wants to show off his family to her so that his mother will be proud of him.
In this first clip, the father (played by Craig T. Nelson) vents his frustration that his oldest son left his autistic grandson (Max) at home to teach him a lesson for yelling at his mother and calling her a b*!ch. We are picking up on a conversation between Zeek (Craig T. Nelson) and his wife enroute to his mothers house. (pardon the ads, they are the necessary evil of the business):
In this second clip, they have arrived at the hotel for the night after a long day on the road. The family is sitting around the pool winding down. The father, Zeek, again vents the frustration that has obviously been growing all day:
The episode is worth watching. I found myself weeping twice because I know how often my responses to my own unmet expectations have deeply wounded my family. They do an incredible job of capturing the interpersonal conflict that is in each family.
But, the writers of Parenthood have no answer to this problem. They do an excellent job exploring relational conflict in a family, and they even do a good job of tracing the roots of the problem to unmet expectations. But now what? What’s the solution? Where are we supposed to find an answer to this problem?
This is where the Christian is uniquely poised. Our true-story (the gospel) must intersect with the stories of the world. James writes in his letter:
“What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.” (James 4:1-2).
James explorers the same problem – interpersonal conflict. He traces the roots to the “want-tos” (covetous desires) of the heart. But, he then goes on to show how the gospel provides the only solution:
“Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you” (James 4:5-10).
Ultimately, the solution for this problem is not that our desires are too great, but too little. We think that we can fulfill the longings of our hearts with something in this world (in Craig T. Nelson’s case, it is the approval of his mother). In essence, what he really wants can only be found in Christ. The true-story of the gospel intersects often with the stories of the world.
To Craig T. Nelson’s character, James would say, “you silly man, don’t you know that God yearns jealously over your soul? You want the approval of your mother when you can have the approval of God. Repent of seeking her approval – it is killing you and you are killing others as a result. Humble yourself before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”
And the reason he can make such a bold promise that God will “exalt you” is because Jesus took our place on the cross so that we can take his place as beloved children of God. He was rejected so that we could be accepted as sinners. Nobody else tells that story!
(For more thoughts on how to interact with TV and cinema, click on over to Rebecca Cusey’s blog Tinsel for her latest post- “When you watch a movie, take in a TV show, or listen to a song, you are not condoning, assenting, agreeing, or endorsing. You are listening. You are listening to the conversation. And by listening, you are loving.”)
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