I
grew up loving movies... And the only person who has never been a movie person at
home is my mum. So Dad, Sis n I would sit through a movie almost every single
week. And boy was it a wonderful time; laughing through comedy, grabbing onto
something when it was a horror movie, a bit of hiding the tears in those
emotional scenes and just the bonding we had through those movie sessions. We
still all love movies, and I can watch a movie numerous times if its a really good one.
Now
dad took time to tell my sister and I a story once as we watched a movie and it
went like this...
A dad once made some cookies for his kids one day.
They were very much normal cookies except that he added a little bit of dog poo
from their dog's litter box. So as they sat watching TV together, the dad
brought the cookies to the table and welcomed them all to eat. The kids looked
at their father and went like, "No way!! They've got dog poo!!"
Sis
and I never really understood what this story was about till when a scene beyond our age appeared, dad confidently
pointed out... "That's dog poo!". It was those little scenes of kissing that we could watch in movies that poisoned the whole movie.
So
as my sister and I grew up, there were scenes in movies called "Dog
poo!"... it was any scene beyond our age. I even remember a
time when my sister would make fun of me because a movie was rater 16 years and
I was not yet 16 and she'd tell me to go to bed because it was not for
me.
Later
on, I had no hindrance to the movies to watch. I was above 18 and any movie was
right for me to watch... Romance, action, horror, comedy, animation, epic; I've
watched them all.
The
reason I give this story is because the only thing that stopped me from
watching movies was that I was not old enough. But with time, I was convicted
that it was not just about my age, it was about the content I fed my mind and
spirit as I watched those movies.
We
live in a time where TV is one of the worst things for any Christian; I say
this because I am a victim. I've seen some of the most absurd things... From
cartoons that are gay and lesbian, to scenes of homosexuality in so many of the
series on our TVs today.
I
have been a victim of the corruption that out television sets have become;
having "become of age", nothing could stop me from watching sex
scenes on TV or buy a series and watch on my laptop. I remember my days in
campus when I would take time to watch 'Spartacus' and that threw me deep into
sexual sin.
Our
generation right now says Sex Sells... But we end up selling our souls to
the devil; we end up throwing our lives into sin in the name of entertainment.
We teach our children to engage in obscenities by letting them watch those
obscenities on television.
A
simple cement or energy drink advert will end up as a sex scene on our
television and we sit with our entire families and watch.
Sin
has walked into our homes through televisions and mobile phones... I know,
because my sexual sin was as a result of television and my mobile phone. It
took me deeper and deeper, with the convincing of online articles that there
were so many benefits to my sin and that made everything just right. The lies
will come, the proof will be sold to us that our sin is a benefit to our
health, that there's nothing wrong with a little bit of indulgence of sin here
and a little bit of sin there... and we slowly get lost in sin knowing that it
is good.
I
am in tears whenever I see a series on television showing gay and lesbian
scenes, or a poster on Whatsapp welcoming 'girls only' for a speed dating session,
or when a group of young people will sit in a TV studio and justify why their
drinking habits are good and should be followed by others. It’s shocking how we
watch gay and lesbian marriages of celebrities and it is celebrated on our
television screens, or how a man will change gender to a woman, get a reality
show done and the entire world gladly sits and watches and admires the sin that is
sold to them.
It
pains me to hear young people claim their adulterous lifestyle is dating, they establish
their own rules and claim that God is OK with having such kind of
relationships. Those are the exact things we feed our souls when we sit in
front of our screens and claim that what we see is the best life to live. We
have put our real manual (The Bible) and we have adopted that series, that
movie, that celebrity lifestyle… that’s the life we want to live.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10
The
truth is that the devil will not establish any new systems to steal from us, to
kill our souls and destroy our lives… He uses what is already in existence and
he has found the perfect way. He doesn’t come dressed in a red cape, pointy
horns and a pitchfork; he comes as everything you’ve ever wished for.
It
took me God to get me out of sexual sin, it took the giver of life who gave
himself for fallen sinners to get me out and embrace me as His child. It broke
me, it killed me inside to be reminded of my sin and I desired the love of the
Father.
You
see, it really doesn’t matter what life you have led before; it only matters
that you want to change your life, it only matters that you want to turn back
to the real giver of life and let go of the lies that have been fed to you, it
only matters that you have seen the truth and you want to live a
life of truth… And He will embrace you just as you are.
He
says He comes to give life, and gives life to the full… It is a choice, and I
can do nothing more than urge you to choose life.
