Of
all the things that influence today’s society, the media is the most
influential. What goes into your mind is what will come out in your actions and
words. One extremely important part of the media is the film industry. It is my
belief that it is possible for Christians to take a stand in the film industry
and produce movies that are captivating, yet still biblically based. Sherwood
Pictures, creators of Fireproof and Courageous, is a great example of how a
movie that is made by Christians should look. If you are looking for a career
as an actor, director, editor, etc., or even just learning to discern whether a
movie is good or not, I hope that what the Bible says and my thoughts from it
will be of some help.
1 Corinthians 10:31 says “Whatever
you do, do it all for the glory of God.” This needs to be the first verse that
you think of when you’re watching, making, or acting in a movie. In fact, I
think that we could ask ourselves this question before doing anything, “Am I
bringing glory and honor to God by what I’m doing?” Colossians 3:23 says
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your strength, as unto the LORD and not
to men.” At the end, when we are in heaven, it won’t matter how many movies you
made, or even if you made any at all, but what will matter is the content of
movies you’ve watched or made, and how you’ve decided to live your life.
Now don’t mistake what I am about to
say, but I think that violence is alright to put in movies or to watch in
movies, as long as the film does not dwell on it. In some films, violence and
evil are shown as the better path to take, and they seem rewarding, and that is
when evil is wrong in a film. Violence is a part of the fallen world, and so I
believe that it is alright to have only as much violence as you need to develop
a plot, and no more. The Lion, the Witch,
and the Wardrobe is a film based on the book by C.S. Lewis, who was a
Christian author, and yes, he had violence and evil in his books, and there is
violence and evil in the movie. I have no real problem with that, because in
that particular movie, the evil is portrayed as definite evil, and violence is
portrayed how it should be: a horrific, awful problem that infests our world.
A big issue in movies is sexual
immorality and immodesty. You might say, “Well, I would NEVER watch a movie
that has that in it!” The truth is, that theme is quickly creeping in to most
movies that are coming out, and the sin may be subtle in movies now, but if you
allow any of it in your movie-watching, it will soon become a large issue.
Philippians 4:8 says “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true,
whatever things are noble,
whatever things are just,
whatever things are pure,
whatever things are lovely,
whatever things are of good
report, if there is any virtue
and if there is anything
praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” If we’re meditating (or “thinking
about”) violence, cursing, and sexual immorality, then we’re in some big
trouble. Instead, Paul says whatever is PURE, whatever is NOBLE, and so on.
In conclusion, if your film is
desired to bring glory to God, you do your best and leave the results up to
Him. If you truly sought to bring Him glory, then your production was a
complete success. Refrain from dwelling on violence, evil, and sexual immorality.
I hope that I’ve gotten close to the point of how Christians can affect the
media. Let me end with this: Christians have huge potential to affect the
media, and more importantly the film industry, but their main goal has to be to
bring glory to God, and leave the results up to him.
~ Whatever you do, do it to the glory of God – 1 Corinthians 10:31
