We are the Champions

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Friday, May 11, 2007

Exercising and The Walton's

So a few weeks ago we finally had an elliptical striding machine delivered. With all that has been going on we decided that it would be best to just get a low impact piece of equipment to do at home. I have been trying to use it in the mornings, which has turned out to be an amazing time of revelation from the Lord.

You are probably going to laugh but while I am using the machine I have been watching the old serial program The Waltons, and sometime Little House on the Praire. This morning as I watched The Walton's it actually made me cry. When you think of these programs today most people would say they were cheesy, but I have seen how our culture used to embrace things of God. As I look back I realize that these shows where God's way of introducing himself to me.

Let me explain. Today most sociologist would say that media reflects the moral values of a culture, sometime to the extreme, but they are a reflection of our values and often are in advance of those values changing. Today the most popular show is Grey's Anatomy, which in my opinion is a very sad reflection of our changing morals when it comes to relationships, sex, commitment, marriage and just about everything we used to value as pure. We are entertained by the immorality.

As I watch The Waltons, I am struck with how this show which I remember watching as a teenager, reflects a time when family was of highest value, a father was the head of the home, a wife was respected and she nurtured her children. I know that not every family was like this, but at least media reflected that this was something to desire and strive for. The show hits on some tough moral and cultural dilemmas, like racism, and the begins of WWII, the depression. alcoholism etc.. but in the midst is faith. No matter the crisis, they know to pray and they know to love.

One of the biggest stumbling blocks to showing Christ to Muslims is that they see America as a reflection of who Christians are and what they value. They do not differentiate between entertainment and our culture. When they see the shows we watch, they rightfully wonder "What do these Christians value?" The truth of what the enemy has stolen is reflected by the opinion of those looking in. When I compare these two shows I realize the enemy has stolen a lot and we need to claim it back.

"Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, and your daughters, your wives and your homes." Nehemiah 4;14

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Dawn,

I don't think that's silly or cheesy at all. I'm a little older than you, and I grew up with Andy Griffin and Mayberry. I have found memories of the Andy Griffin show for many of the same reasons. I still love to watch it on television and sometimes I can even talk my children into watching it with me.

I like the fact that Andy and his family attended church, prayed and there was also a moral lesson in the show. It wasn't just about comedic relief, although Barney always made me laugh. Somehow Andy would always find a way to right a wrong, or teach a lesson to his son and the audience. I loved the way that the members of that community loved and supported each other. In many ways, I grew up thinking that was what a church family was supposed to be like. You had your quirky people, but no one was really malicious, and they cared and put up with each other.

It saddens me to think of how different our culture is today. It has become so much ruder and more vulgar. As you point out, the shows don't model or reflect the sort of society that they once did. I think that's one of the reasons that the show "Friday Night Lights" stuck out to me. It was the first time that I had seen prayer shown in a television show - but now I think they do it for shock value, rather than to confirm social values.

And you are right about Muslims and their view of Americans and Christianity. One of my colleagues is a Muslim and we have begun to have deeper conversations about our faith. To much of the world American Christianity is rejected, along with American missionaries. It's a sad truism that our brothers and sisters in China, India, Africa and the third world are more listened to as missionaries than we are - and you have to lay that at the feet of our culture.

The Romans made the mistake of thinking that God had brought Christianity to their civilization because they spanned the (known) world and would (they believed) endure forever. I hope that we as a nation haven't become that arrogant - but I fear that we have. And I fear that unfortunately the symbols of our culture DO represent our values and what we have become. I fear that we live in Rome.

Micah 6:8: The Lord has shown you what he requires of you - that you do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God.