I'm REALLY irritated right now. We've gotten rid of or put up 90% of our movies. We rarely even use the TV. (Next step is to get rid of it I know!) And then this happens....
The other night was election night for Idaho. My husband, the politician, was up hitting refresh on about four sites getting updates from around the state late that night. Very exciting night for him.
So I was looking up things with him as the results were coming in and we thought we'd watch a good ole' classic while we were 'refreshing.' We choose Lord of the Rings #3, one of my favorite movies. Now we haven't watched very many movies in a quite a while. So I'm sitting there watching/listening to it half interested and I'm noticing something. This is a horrible movie! It is violent and scary and why didn't I notice this before? Hello? Sure there are some magical parts. Some truly inspiring moments that make me want to fight to the last breathe against evil. However, it's kind of small in comparison to the rest of all the creepy Golum and bad guy parts. Sigh..... I really like Lord of the Rings, but it's going to have to at least be put up......
Every time I think I'm getting ahead of Babylon I find some more things that I now feel aren't the BEST.
Before I think there were a lot of really good things that inspired me to greater thoughts. Now as I've gotten rid of all the good things though I'm noticing that maybe my good and really good might need to go too. This is making me think hard! So do I get rid of those things too? And if I do what in the world is left to participate in????? I'll just end with Cousin Ribby saying the rest of what I'm thinking here.
Babylon is so entwined in my life!
11 comments:
Ahh, don't say that! I haven't seen the Lord of the Rings for several years either, but I was looking forward to watching it with the kids someday... I'll probably feel the same way you do when the time comes. I'm finding that there are a several things that used to not bother me that are starting to bother me as I am becoming more sensitive. It's a good thing though right? It's not like I really miss them once they are gone. There are really many better things out there anyway :-)
Sadly, that is the perfect question. "What "in the world" is there to participate in?" Not much. I think stepping away from all the wordly things is what has to happen. The more you do this, the more you realize, even little things that didn't bother you before. We've become desensitized as a society.
Thanks for helping me think!
We are desensitized so badly! And it is so hard to step away...painful... But it must be done. Elder Christofferson said Zion will be built "because we built it."
Thanks for your thoughts again.
We are desensitized so badly! And it is so hard to step away...painful... But it must be done. Elder Christofferson said Zion will be built "because we built it."
Thanks for your thoughts again.
When my oldest was 2 his favorite thing in the world was the blue Orc from Lord of the Rings. He loved looking at the movie book with the big, ugly picture in it. Now he's 9 and scared to death of the movies.
For what it's worth I LOVE the books way more than the movies. You might try those.
And I agree, we are very desensitized. I also think that we go through stages of growth -what was acceptable for our family a few years (or even months) ago, is now no longer okay. As we grow and mature in our understanding so do our standards. It does hurt though sometimes....
Stick with rocks and dirt and you'll be safe. That's my plan.
Ha--I loved the rocks and dirt comment!
I couldn't agree with you more. We were just going through our movies again and decided that Lord of the Rings would have to go. (For the record, no one under the age of 18 in our family has watched it). We haven't watched it in over two years, anyway.
I was having separation anxiety a little (it was, after all, nearly $100 for the special edition extended version), and couldn't really decide if I wanted to really let it go or not, and this tipped me over the edge (well, this and Cousin Ribby, anyway).
Thanks for giving me the kick I needed into further extremity! :)
I don't like to think I'm all that pushy, but, yes, I was pretty adamant about "Lord of the Rings" this last time 'cleaning up.'
Thank you for this post; it's comforting to know that there are so many of us making changes like this; becoming "de-de-sensitized" (if that could possibly be a word) is hard work--but entirely worth it.
It's an "in the world but not of the world" balance. Sometimes it seems like a challenge to stay "in the world" when everything about it is screaming "run away!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Any thoughts?
I was going through Netflix the other day and putting some of my favorite movies from the 80's in the que. We got one in the mail and I put it in thinking, "This will be so fun to share this with my kids!" Only to get about 15 minutes into it before I shut it off. My husband and I realized we watched a lot of movies that were rated PG in the 80's that would be PG-13 or R now.
I am much more sensitive to movies and books now than I was even 5 years ago. I believe there is a reason for this...the Spirit is helping us better ourselves by separating ourselves from the things of the world. I am amazed that our parents let us watch that stuff...but then again, most of it was edited for TV when I saw it.
Great post! You are fabulous for sharing details about your life with us.
This is a hard topic and one that I struggle with as well. I watched Lord of the Rings with my hubby because he loved it. Me... not so much. I didn't like the violence.
But I still read Christian fiction books that I wonder about. Are they the "best?" Is it ok to have some Good or some Better in your life or does everything have to be the Best?
Also, what do you do when you get rid of so many things? I have weeded out a lot of my reading material, movies, television watching, etc. but I wonder if I need to filter even more. Know what I found? Instead of watching movies I waste time on the internet. The internet can be a beautiful thing but it also is a time sucker.
It's also a bit uncomfortable in my house because my hubby is more comfortable with things that I am not. I like the Wii but I don't like the Mario games because they have ghosts and I don't believe in them. When I talked to my husband about my conviction that they shouldn't be in our home, he agreed we could get rid of the Mario games but he's still sad about it. I want to please my husband but I also want to please God. Pleasing God is more important, but it's still awkward occasionally when my husband wants to do something or watch a movie that I don't feel comfortable with. It's a gentle dance we do at our house, both trying to make the other happy, but also unsure of what's ok and what should not be included in a Christian's life.
It is very funny to watch my husband's reaction when I bring up something else I've been reading and thinking about. His face was very amusing when I pondered if headcovering for women is still applicable in today's time period. ;)
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