Diversions, temptations, speculation, and fun, all of these words are related. Not all are evil or destructive, and some can be rather helpful. I like many others in my generation grew up with the reality of video games, the VCR, MTV, and the like. My son will grow up assuming that the following are the norms, cell phones, wireless internet, digital TV and personalized entertainment.
Some days, I fear for him, for what his life will be like, the pressure of constant connectivity and informational overload. It may be that he does much better than I have with such things, I pray he will. However, there is hope. Dick Staub writes in “The Culturally Savvy Christian” the following: “The word entertainment means diversionary, something that draws our attention away from one thing to another. Diversion is not necessary a pejorative term – a person can be diverted from the frivolous to the serous through entertainment” (2007, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. P.6). The question that I must now ask is there entertainment in the popular culture of North America that can function in a positive manner?
I am inclined to say that yes there is. I don’t want to suggest that the made for TV movie or the special episode of a popular sitcom is the answer. There are and I will suggest that for some time to come there will be entertainment that does cause us to think about the issues of our day, and the difficulties of the world. That stated, these become points of interaction where Christians can and need to engage the culture, the neighbor on these very points. In some cases we have a great deal to offer without little effort. In other cases we will need to do some work ourselves, to know not only our Christian tradition, but to also know the heart of God on a subject.
We cannot address issues with the simple minded catch phrase or pat answer. We will need to do our homework, we will need to have an deep and genuine relationship with Christ Jesus. An example quickly comes to mind, I was speaking with a friend was preparing to move in with his long term girlfriend, and I had offered the wisdom I could. This, is not a Christian, but does have interest in Christian spirituality. In the midst of the conversation, a second friend walked up and heard part of the conversation and immediately said, “I know God said, and that settles it for me.” His comment immediately ended the whole of the conversation. My second friend is a Christian, but he came to the conversation with a pre-formulated statement about people living together, that destroyed the moment, and the conversation. This was not a helpful or wise thing to do. His intentions were good, and if truth be told, we agree that it is not a good thing for people to live together before marriage.
If we continue to interact with the culture in these thoughtless ways we will end the conversation before it really begins. We come over as judgmental, heavy handed, arrogant, and even evil, not because our intentions are bad, but because we don’t even listen. If we don’t listen, it clearly seems that we don’t care. Please hear me, I’m not suggesting that we dispose of the truth of God’s word, rather that we learn to apply it in a more skillful fashion. It is also important that we apply it to ourselves before attempting to tell others the answers to their concerns, or we will clearly been seen as those who do not practice what they preach.
