What is it about movies these days? So much formulaic drivel that impedes the human brain from developing into anything but slimy jello in an otherwise realistically-starved world. You can walk into a movie these days and then want to walk out after only a few minutes to demand your money back and wish your popcorn would stay warm until you can get an older, more intelligent movie at the video store.

You get up on a Saturday morning and you think about seeing a movie. You look in the paper and try to find a movie that you could actually stay awake through and it is really hard sometimes to find something that tickles your fancy.

There is violence and lots of sex and people doing despicable acts. All in the name of devil worship unbeknownst to the movie-goer who wants something they can sink their brains into to escape the crime-ridden world in which we live in. And instead they get a lot of people running around looking for the holy grail only to find their souls stripped of reality in one inept scene after another. Has the world become naked or are we to believe that the nonsense that has draped the screen lately has any moral or ethical value whatsoever?

But yet we trudge on to the video store hoping to snag a movie that isn't a formulaic repeat of another or others we have seen. It really strikes a blow to Hollywood when the better movies don't get awards while the movies that don't make much sense and are so full of repetitive crap, get all the juice.

So what do you do these days when you want to find something good? I have found lately that seeing some of the television shows that I have not seen before, that are now on DVD, are a lot better than most of the movies that have miserably graced the screen. There are so many good wholesome TV shows that are entertaining as well as informative and a real learning process into what the world could be like if we could all just learn to get along. I am hoping that with this trend of great TV shows that people are getting tired of the violence. They are getting tired of all the sex that blasts it's way into the teenage mind like eye candy waiting to be swallowed and believed.

Proverbs 11:11 The good influence of godly citizens causes a city to prosper, but the moral decay of the wicked drives it downhill. TLB

What does it say about society today when a parent actually believes that some of the most violent movies of all time are OK for their children to watch because as the parents put it, "My kid knows what is reality and what isn't."? Are we to assume that our children are not effected by violence on the screen either in the living room or the sticky-floored cinema? Are we to believe that if an ugly man grabs a head and breaks another mans neck after they filled the person full of holes, is actually family faire? It is surprising how many parents actually believe this.

And then to top it all off those same parents later on wonder why their children haven't grown up with the same values, they were, quote unquote, brought up to believe. For all intensive purposes, children are affected. I remember seeing a number of shows on television and then over the next two to three days after a show aired a very similar violent act that was portrayed on TV, happened in the world as we know it. Are these but mere coincidences or is there a pattern?

Would Jesus Christ have seen a violent movie? Of course not. Would He have tried to influence Hollywood to come up with movies with moral issues that are addressed properly? Of course He would have. But yet when was the last time you were at a movie that had any kind of Christian value sewn into it? When was the last time that you heard a very Christian-oriented statement being said in a movie that grabbed a hold of you and made you want to rush home and read the Bible?

God did not put us on this planet to enjoy beheadings, multiple gun shots fired at innocent bystanders, teenage sex with multiple partners and movies that portrayed such filth as being glorious. He gave us the common sense to realize that this kind of heinous drivel is not worth the screen it is shown on. It is not worth the time spent that could otherwise be spent glorifying the love that God gives to all. It is not worth the effort to get in the car, brave the traffic, inhaling the smog, while having to deal with another crazed driver that cuts you off trying to get to another crime-and-sex-ridden movie.

But that seems to be the present human condition. That is what drives a lot of people to trudge on in a world that often doesn't care because people are so busy getting richer and more spoiled-rotten instead of learning about the love of God and the glory. The eternal glory that awaits those that choose to walk down the righteous path. A path that is filled with Gods love and compassion. A road that is often ignored for all the filth that permeates the screen trying to make a name for itself in another Hollywood mish-mash of movie plots held together only, it would seem, by rubber bands and age-old school glue.

Romans 8:18-20 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will give us later. 19 For all creation is waiting patiently and hopefully for that future day when God will resurrect his children. 20 For on that day thorns and thistles, sin, death, and decay --the things that overcame the world against its will at God's command-will all disappear, and the world around us will share in the glorious freedom from sin which God's children enjoy. TLB

Now that is is something to really look forward to.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for giving me the chance to live in a world created by you. Please help me to not let what other people have done to it get me down. Help me sift through the drivel, the violence and the screen-plastered sex scenes, and find something in this world that has your name on it. Help me to find something that is wholesome and loving and selfless that I can remember so that when I am hit with the harsh realities of crime and disillusionment, I can remember how much love you have for me. Guide me in this coming week to find your love in others and help me to show that love to others. I thank you for all your many blessings. Amen.

Benediction: Now, Lord, Bless us in our daily lives. Help us to smell the roses whenever possible, to shine our light on those less fortunate than us, and lead us in the path we should go. For you are the light that keeps our path well lit. Help us to follow it, until we meet you, in a land where milk and honey abound, a place where our most wonderful dreams are fulfilled. Amen.

Hi, my name is Bryan, a messenger of hope who would love to hear from you. God Bless.

© 2005 Bryan Hill