Not really feeling the magic, Mike

I like facebook.  I can't deny it.  I like seeing pictures of my friend's babies, not so much pictures of their dinner (please stop), but I like keeping up with my friends.

Lately, though, I've been disappointed.  

Not in facebook itself.  But disappointed in the things I'm seeing pop up in my news feed.  I bet you, today, if I took a poll of the most popular thing being displayed on my home page, you'd see two words.

Magic Mike.

And I want to scream. Like wild banshee, red face, toddling A caliber scream.

I realize a lot of my friends on FB aren't Christians and not that that excuses them, but I can cut them some slack.  It's the friends I know that follow Christ and want to be Christ-like that make me shudder.

For those of you who aren't aware of this Magic Mike, it's a movie (being released today) that IMDB.com sums up as "A male stripper teaches a younger performer how to party, pick up women, and make easy money."

And there are Christ followers who want to see that?? 

***enter sound of my mind being bottled...err...boggled***

Kay.

Let's just dive into this..

Magic Mike is inspired by the true story of actor Channing Tatum, who himself plays the role of this so called Magic Mike.   I haven't seen this movie but I know from other movies that Channing is an attractive person.  I'll give you that.  But going to see a movie where he strips and picks up women just seems dangerously close to porn.  Don't get me wrong, I know this movie isn't porn, and go ahead and call me a prude for comparing this movie to it, but really I think this movie and porn are going after the same desire.  

Lust.

I'm convinced the person walking into the theater to watch this movie isn't saying "what an interesting young fellow, I'd really like to know more of his life story."  No, the people walking into the theater to watch this movie want to see Channing and his friends take their clothes off.  That's lust.

  

"Jesus made it clear that when we give in to lust, it is akin to the act itself. It makes no difference whether you know the person or not; lust is not tied to relationship." - Pastor James White 

Pastor Jim also says "Sin of any kind desensitizes your spiritual life. Continued exposure to a sin such as pornography is like shooting novocaine into your soul. It deadens you and grieves the Holy Spirit in your life, forcing Him to withdraw His utmost filling in a way that diminishes His power and presence in your life"  (you can read the whole post at Church and Culture)

I am a sinner, that's no secret.  I mess up daily.  But I try tremendously hard to not willingly and knowingly deaden my soul and separate myself from the Holy Spirit.

Craig Groeschel, in his book Soul Detox puts it like this "As we become scarred and desensitized to what is right and wrong, good and evil, life-giving and life-draining, we lose sight of our first love. We move away from God one degree at a time."

I can't stop you from going to see this movie, but I do hope that before you buy your tickets, you'll ask yourself, "Is this right or wrong, good or evil, is this life-giving or life-draining?" 

Groeschel also says "Do you think that what we consider laughable, entertaining, or simply fun, God might find heartbreaking?"

Hmmm....

I know some of you are saying, really? You're overreacting, it's a harmless movie and all my friends want to go see it, I don't want to get left out.

And this is what I'd say to you, if you were sitting on my couch right now, "Become wise by walking with the wise; hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces."  Ok, those aren't my words.  That's Proverbs 13:20.  

I've watched my life fall to pieces before.  Not really keen on repeating that.

One of my dear friends, a woman who I admire with everything I have, recently wrote a blog post similar to the point I'm trying to make here, but in reference to the book Fifty Shades of Grey.  Brittney says "we completely miss the evil that is sneaking into our souls from more subtle influences. Putting poison like this into our minds, things you know aren't at all pleasing to God, will most assuredly start to take your life."

See why I admire her so much?

And she's right. 

Magic Mike, being rated R, shown publicly in a theater setting is sneaking into many souls this weekend. Poisoning minds. Taking lives.

How about "Rather than sinking into the quicksand of sin, you swim into the clean water of God's forgiveness and cleansing love." - Groeschel

That's a movie I'd pay to see.