Wednesday, February 23,
2022
One day Jesus said
to his disciples, “There will always be temptations to sin, but what
sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting! It would
be better to be thrown into the sea with a millstone hung around your neck than
to cause one of these little ones to fall into sin. So
watch yourselves! Luke 17:1-3a
A warning is only as big as the power owned by the one
making the threat. In Luke’s account, the
threat carries more weight than a herd of elephants cascading over Niagara
Falls. Jesus spoke to the stormy winds
on the Sea of Galilee and they immediately hushed. That’s impressive, but climate control is
nothing compared to the power that speaks to death and then walks out of a
sealed tomb!
That being said, the warning Jesus gave to his disciples,
about tempting others to sin, carries the kind of powerful retributive promise which
should leave anyone shaking in his boots.
If the Creator of everything speaks, it’s important to listen.
A prime example of those who do not listen is found in
the entertainment industry. This
statement points at virtually the entire industry, with
few exceptions. Frankly, compared to
even 20 years ago, the amount of vile language, indecent depictions of sex, and
graphic violence, have gone off the charts.
A typical “excuse” used to prop-up the industry’s
self-aggrandizing image is that they simply offer a product. They claim to bear no responsibility for what
the people view. It is true there is an
on-off button to TV, internet, publishing, and theatre. But there is plenty of responsibility nonetheless!
A man who grew up in the same house with Jesus was the
apostle, James, who had this to say about the source of temptation:
Temptation comes
from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These
desires give birth to sinful actions. And
when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. James 1:14-15
So, if temptation comes from within, it is our own fault…yes? No argument there, says the
Hollywood producer…let the buyer of my indecent artwork beware. However, if you objectively (and honestly) revisit
what Jesus said to his disciples about the sorrow that awaits those
who do the tempting, you’d be hard-pressed to make a case for
producers of smut and visual filth getting off scott-free on judgment day! You cannot own both sides of an argument, and
the fattening of bank accounts will swing the ledger’s testimony against the entertainment
industry at the foot of the Great White Throne!
Even O.J.’s attorney wouldn’t be able to pull that one off!
For You Today
Whichever
side of the “smut vs. decency” issue you support (and you ARE on one side or
the other, either by your words, deeds, or simply silence), remember the warning
of Jesus. He wasn’t joking. If you’re on Jesus’ side of this issue, pray
for those who aren’t; they are in a very precarious place. When the king of glory says Watch
Yourselves, looking the other way isn’t an option; you’re either
with him, or against him.
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have
a blessed day!
[1] Title image: Pixabay.com Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
