Movies

There are two dangers in talking about movies. On one hand I can't help but feel like a hypocrite but more importantly I don't want you to ignore this labeling it as legalism.( I think its important to challenge morally neutral issues once in a while.)

ፊልም ለምን እንደምናይና ማየት ያለብንን የፊልም አይነት፣ በቀን ውስጥ ለፊልም ምን ያህል ሰዐት ብንሰጥ እንደማንጎዳ ወይንም እንደምንጠቀም ማሰብ ጠቢብ እንጂ ግብዝና ፈሪሳዊ አያደርገንም።

Did God give us principles?

I have my opinions on these issues like you guys but what matters most is what God thinks about it. It is silly to think that God has no opinions on the things that are explicitly unmentioned in the Bible. And yet pastors convinced us wrongly that the Bible is "our map" which seems like a legit understanding of scripture but it misses the very purpose of why the Bible was written. In His sermon "God is for God" Matt Chandler tells us bluntly "The Bible is not about you!" I think its an appropriate place to start any discussion about life: affirming that in the Bible God revealed who He is through history so we know what He hates and we know what pleases Him. 

There is no 11th commandment that says "Thou shall not watch movies" and we shouldn't wait for the new version of the updated Bible to make it relevant for our lives. This is key because the Bible surely doesn't include every issue we deal with and why should it? God didn't give us a book to satisfy our curiosity.. He wanted us to know Him. And you know what your friends like just by getting to know them. Its that simple. So yes, God is interested in what we see and how much we see what we see. 

So before saying that it is sin to watch a movie and robbing you of the freedom Christ bought for you or in the other hand giving out licence to sitting around half of the day watching filth I have to make myself clear.. I have no right to make a laws like"Thou should only watch movies on Friday for an hour" because movie can be catagorised in what Jerry Bridges call "Respectable Sins." And these are acts that may or may not be sinful, they may or maynot rob us of our affections for Christ. So no one is qualified to come up with an objective law. But I'm here to raise challenge you in what I'm learning in my life. This is for me as much as it is for you 😊 and I'm open to corrections. 

1, Certain movies are simply wrong for Christians. It doesn't make sense for a Christian who hates his sin and is at war with it daily, to be entertained watching the things that God hates! Unbelievers might be indifferent watching incest, violence, homosexual relationships on screen and they might be amused by it but for us, we know that those sins are a direct offense to God and we know the people will face judgment and His wrath so how can we be amused by it? Now I'm not saying it is always sin to watch people commit sin! Thats not it. But being entertained by sin is wrong for us. 

2, We are commanded to starve the fleshly desire in us. Romans 13 :4 “ይልቁንም ጌታ ኢየሱስ ክርስቶስን ልበሱት፤ ምኞቱንም ይፈጽም ዘንድ ለሥጋ በሐሳባችሁ አትመቻቹለት።” If you struggle with lust, watching romantic movies (which is now basically every movie) feeds the old man in you. If you struggle with impatience, temper and pride watching violent movies hardens your heart. Thats like taking care of your enemy. And before you know it you are numb to it. Lets be honest here.. how rare and weird was it to see people kissing or having a gay character in a movie? I can remember a time when action movies were so obviously fake that we found it funny. And in few years everything became so realistic and preverted.

📌Are there any clean movies out there? Or are you so used to it to recognise what's clean? If it is dirty, then why would you waste your time on watching the temptation that will kill you? We judge David for watching her naked and yet we are so comfortable to do it daily We should come to this..“ ከዐይኔ ጋር ቃል ኪዳን ገብቻለሁ።” ኢዮብ 31፥1

3, Kevin Deyoung said "Worldliness makes righteousness seem strange". I know that there are movies out there which are safe to watch. They do not celebrate sin or make it look wonderfully attractive. For instance I think sitcoms are safe and fun to watch but I want to raise a question that challenged me on the clean sitcoms I binge watch over and over again..😂

📌Is God presented as relevant for our lives in the story line or is He obsolete? How can you spend years of your lives willingly watching a fictitous world where God is absent. Our lives are already too worldly. We watch news and the head line is always poletics,business and you think "This is whats important!" but when you switch the channels you see an endless options of entertainment and you'll start believing that actually its your feelings that matters most. What you find amusing is what you should spend your time on. To be clear again..I'm not saying that these movies are evil just because God isn't mentioned in them. I am saying it is a waste of time to spend a lot of time in imaginary world where God doesn't exist and to know the characters intimately but when it comes to pursuing God all of a sudden you find excuses like "I'm busy". If you find God boring, and your mind wonders when you're in His presence to those sitcoms..maybe its time to change! 

The last point I want to make is very important. I am not saying watching the "Christian" channels we have here is a virtue just because they use the name of God. If God is presented in a way that does not inflame our love for him, it is still utterly useless! Dont kill your time on it! The way to discern which movies to watch ultimately comes down to its content and its effect on how you use your time. Even if the content is safe, it doesn't give you the right to stay up all night watching it!TIME IS PASSING YOU BY! DO NOT WASTE YOUR LIFE!

Use these as a grid

📌Does it please God? Colla 3:17 

📌Can you thank God for it? 

📌Pauls first letter to Corinthians warns them of abusing their freedom to a point where unbelievers stumbled. ሰው ያሰናክላል?

📌I think the underlying reason that caused you to watch a new movie matters! Are you trying to fit in with your friends? If so, then it is wrong. Because we are called to be anomalys. All the filth the world finds normal should freak us out! We should be sensitive for the sake of the Holy Spirit who indwells with in us! [I find this thought very terrifying] 

“ከክርስቶስ ኢየሱስ ጋር አንድ እንድንሆን የተጠመቅን፣ ከሞቱ ጋር አንድ እንሆን ዘንድ እንደ ተጠመቅን አታውቁምን?” ሮሜ 6፥3) The Bible talks about us as members of His body! His holy name is attached to us, so it is surely wrong to defy Gods flesh (የራሳችን ስላይደለን!) to be accepted or to be cool. Christ already accepted us. That should be more than enough!