For Entertainment Sake
Should Christian Women Be Supporting Adultery on the Alter of Entertainment?
“Mama, are they married” Aislin asked as the scene of Little House on the Prairie closed out with a subtle kiss on the lips. Nothing raunchy or overly sexualized — just an innocent kiss shared by Ma and Pa.
“Yeah, they’re married.” I replied. Although, as I said it, I realized what she really meant…
“No, like in real life??”
In that moment, a wave of conviction crashed upon my calloused heart.
This concept wasn’t new to me. I asked those same questions, Ace. But for the sake of entertainment, I stuffed those ponderings into a big black bag, took it out to trash bin, only to find out it never made it to the dump.
Here it was again, awakened from the mouth of babes. And now I had to deal with it. I couldn’t continue on with unsubstantiated justifications. Not only because I want my kid to walk in Truth, but even more so because this child will continue to call my bluff. Dubbed ‘the warden’ by my cousin’s husband, ‘nothing gets by Ace!’ Much like myself as a child, things are still pretty black and white in her mind.
As an adult, I have (unfortunately) developed the ability to override those convictions based on reasoning – more frankly known as shearing the conscious. Afterall, there are so many valid reasons why watching content like this was a necessity!
Family movie nights. A way to unwind. Being relatable. Theatre dates with my husband. And the one I selfishly didn’t want to let go of more than any other………cozying up with a Hallmark movie marathon during the holiday season.
Deep down, I knew these flesh-feeding reasons weren’t going to hold up in a court of law – not with Warden Aislin and definitely not with a perfect and holy God.
God’s stance on adultery is littered throughout Scripture. Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22; 1st Corinthians 6:9-10; Matthew 5:28; and many more. But Proverbs 6:23-29 helps us have a visual picture of what we are promoting when these actors and actresses are pretending to be in love.
v. 27-29 – Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? So is he who goes into his neighbor’s wife, none who touches her will go unpunished.
“But they’re acting,” you might say. Tell that to Jennifer Anniston. And Dennis Quaid. And Reese Witherspoon. And Chris Robinson. The list goes on. What do all of these big names have in common? Their relationships ended on account of off-screen affairs with their spouse’s co-stars. And these are just to name a few! It is no secret that actors tend to fall in love on-set.
Let’s consider this from a more personal perspective. This is what helped me sort this out in my mind…
Would you be okay with your husband going to ‘work’ each day pretending to be in love with another woman? Would your children be okay with Daddy playing house with some other lady? Our family answers this with a resounding ‘NO.’ (Sorry, Dom. I know I just crushed all of your acting dreams.)
I have felt this way for the better part of seven years and have sworn off promoting this sinful behavior on the alter of my self-indulgence and entertainment. It would be one thing to forego a personal conviction in the name of love – like the ham sandwich I ate at a dinner party the other night despite my conviction to not eat pork. My love for the host outweighed the fact that I think pork is one of the worst things we can eat. So go ahead, crunchy mamas! Eat those fries cooked in seed oils in the name of love when a sweet family invites you for dinner! Sit in a room with a Glade Plug-In to connect with a lonely mom who needs a listening ear. Let Cocomelon play in the background of a playdate even though you know they are trying to indoctrinate your kid. It is situations like these that I choose to lay off knowing that our family will be residing in our home with our standards 98% of the time. And it is here that I allow mercy to triumph over justice. At least for a friendship that isn’t there yet. Yes, mom, our friendship is there 😉
But I digress…my point is you can’t REALLY provide a solid reason for supporting this industry.
After years of walking out this conviction and being genuinely surprised by most Christians’ apathetic response to posing this question, I was so pumped to see this short by Candace Cameron Bure about how her roles with a love interest made her husband really uncomfortable ‘regardless of a kiss at the end.’ He candidly told her, “I really don’t like watching you be close to someone else.” THANK YOU, CANDACE!! Now this thought has a little more clout.
People used to ask me, ‘So do you just find out if there’s a kiss in the movie and then simply not watch it or turn away?’ No. The kiss isn’t the issue!
It was during the movie Courageous, a Christian movie, that this thought initially came to a head for me. Watching a dramatic scene where the ‘wife’ was crying and distraught, her ‘husband’ caressed her back and kissed her on the top of her head. Again, I would never be okay with my husband acting out a scene like that. I don’t care how much he would be paid. I would rather eat rocks than allow him to ‘carry fire next to his chest’.
I know there are Christians out there that might be raising their eyebrows out of intrigue or even nodding along, but the prospect of cutting out the entertainment industry cold turkey can seem impossible. Can I suggest investing in worthwhile documentaries or a YouTube channel that promotes a skill, meal planning or Biblical womanhood? I have a handful of channels that I enjoy ‘vegging out’ on at times that leave me inspired to be a better mom, wife and homemaker. Consider content that will enhance your life and even benefit your husband and children.