A Watching World

By: American Decency Staff

Network television seems to have a favorite theme: immorality and illicit sex. Next to the bombardment of sex and innuendo, another favorite theme of network television is the negative and stereotypical portrayal of Christians and their faith. NBC’s “Studio 60” regularly takes pot shots of Christians, portraying the ‘Christian-right’ as hateful whackos. Fox’s animated “American Dad”, as another example, often mocks Christianity. Tawdry reality shows, such as “Trading Spouses” and “Wife Swap”, delight in placing an atheist or immoral mother in a Christian home, taking every opportunity to misrepresent Christian values. (Just this week ABC’s “Wife Swap” had a devout Christian home-schooling mother trade places with a mother who uses profanity regularly, drinks heavily – keeping beer kegs and large supplies of alcohol on hand for drinking parties, and performs in bars with her heavy-metal rock band.) And then there are the crime shows. Anytime you see a character represented as a Christian on these dramas, it is almost a certain guarantee that the Christian will be the perpetrator of some heinous crime – portraying all Christians as immoral hypocrites. Last Friday, NBC’s “Law and Order” once again picked up this theme. The story line focused on a minister of a huge conglomerate of churches with tens of thousands of members. The church is portrayed as nothing more than a business, raking in millions and millions of dollars. One police officer says: “I guess religion really pays off.” And the CEO of the church (yes, the church had a CEO) tells the police: “If you sell a quality product, people will buy it.” When a homosexual man is murdered, of course the popular minister, who is shown speaking out and preaching against the sin of homosexuality, is arrested for the murder of the homosexual. It turns out the minister was having sex with the homosexual whom he had met on pornographic web sites. As the story unfolds, it actually turns out the minister’s wife committed the crime to keep the homosexual man from revealing her husband’s illicit homosexual affair. Without going into great detail, suffice it to say that throughout this episode Christians are portrayed as hypocritical, judgmental, unloving, swindlers, and hate-filled homophobes. It angers and saddens me when I see Hollywood’s portrayal of Christians, knowing millions of viewers are being indoctrinated with this misleading impression of Christianity. I don’t doubt for a moment that this misrepresentation is very intentional. Yet, in watching this episode I was also saddened for another reason. This “ripped from the headlines” episode has aspects that seem very similar to the recent Ted Haggard downfall and his admissions of immorality. I do not intend to disparage any person, but I think this “Law and Order” episode gives evidence of the great responsibility we have as Christians that we keep our testimony pure. Of course none of us is sinless and we each have the capability of falling into great sin and public disgrace (i.e. King David). However, we must not forget that there is a watching world waiting for any excuse to label all Christians as hypocrites. When a schoolteacher is caught in a sexual relationship with a student, not all teachers are represented as sexual predators. However, we know that the spotlight, either nationally or in our own local communities and circles, will focus on any moral failing of a Christian and use it to smear the reputation of all Christians, portray Christianity as fraudulent, and negate the millions whose lives are a testament to the love of Christ. We may not like this false representation and it may not be fair, but it is the reality. We should all examine our own lives and testimonies. From the lowliest of Christians, to the greatest leaders of the largest churches. What is our testimony to a secular world? Do our words, actions, inner thought life, and our lifestyle match what we profess to believe? Are we allowing Satan to have a foothold in any area of our life? Could we be fairly labeled as hypocrites? Is our focus on our own selfish or prideful ambitions? In the February 15 devotional thoughts from “My Utmost for His Highest”, Oswald Chambers reminds us: “Has it ever dawned on you that you are responsible for other souls spiritually before God? For instance, if I allow any private deflection from God in my life, everyone about me suffers. … When once you allow physical selfishness, mental slovenliness, moral obtuseness, spiritual density, everyone belonging to your crowd will suffer.” We do not live in a vacuum. We are not islands. Everything we do and say as Christians is an example to a watching world – either for good or ill. It should come as no surprise when the secular media pounce upon any example of a Christian living a hypocritical life as this “Law and Order” episode did, and use it to misrepresent true Christianity. Yet, it shouldn’t keep us from calling foul when they do so. However, most importantly, may we each heed Chambers’ counsel of our own responsibility to those reading the testimony of our lives. Does it point to Christ? To contact the advertisers that sponsored Law and Order’s biased, negative portrayal of Christianity, see below. Advertisers include: Target, Frito-Lay, Toyota. https://americandecency.org/main.php?f=updates_new/2007/february/2.9a.07 ==================================== Let’s encourage one another and strengthen one another to be more like our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. American Decency Association Bill Johnson, President P.O. Box 202 Fremont, MI 49412 PH: 231-924-4050 www.americandecency.org

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