And so it arrives, the most anticipated movie in ages. Already declared a blockbuster,

50 Shades of Grey will likely bring in around a staggering $90 million dollars this opening weekend alone, which isn't surprising considering the book version has sold over 100 million copies. Yep, 100 million.
 
So the big question is, are you going?  Will there be a movie date night this weekend with your honey, or maybe you'll be joining a group of ladies at the cinema?  My encouragement to all as people of faith is, to borrow a cliché, to just say "no."
 
As followers of Jesus Christ, we are called very simply to flee sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18).  We are not called to toy with immorality, or indulge it, or to get as close to it as we can.  We are called to run the other way.  Flee.  Call me old fashioned if you must, but I uphold that God's design for the wonderful gift of human sexuality is that it is to be fully and freely indulged only in the covenant of marriage.
 
In a society already overrun with sexual brokenness and a loosening of standards, my biggest concern regarding this movie is its mainstream appeal. I worry especially for our young people and the dangerous message that sex will lead to love.  I worry about the message that sexual violence is okay.
 
Martin Luther once said, "You can't stop the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from making a nest in your hair."  Yes, temptation is all around us.  All the more reason we need each other and the church.  My prayer this weekend is that we don't choose to allow pornography to nest on our heads. The Gospel has so much more to offer.
 
"Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude.  It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.  It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never ends....And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love."                   
-1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13
 
Prayer for Today

Dear God, we pray for purity in mind, body, and circumstance.  Send your Holy Spirit to give us the courage of our convictions.  Amen.