I just came back from youth retreat this morning, and one of the messages was on guarding your heart. You know, garbage in, garbage out. Lately I've been watching, and listening to stuff that a Christian shouldn't be watching and listening to. and it's been coming through in my thoughts and language. In last nights service i went forward and asked forgiveness for what I've been doing. Now that I'm back home, I've committed to guarding my heart against things of the devil. I've deleted all of the songs off of my mp3 player that I wouldn't let my youth pastor listen to, and am trying to refrain myself from watching anything on tv that has swearing, sex, etc. Anyway, there was a movie that I wanted to see before i left for retreat on Thursday called I Am Sam. It sounds like a very good movie (and my mother has agreed to let us watch it together as a family). I has about 10 cuss words in it (looked up the review online). Should I watch it, or skip out because of those 10 words?I need advice form older wiser CHISTIANS please. Perplexed teenager has a question?
Consider the Bible above all other ';opinions'; and be like a Berean who receives the Word with readiness of mind, but then searches the scripture to see what is true (Acts 17:11).
A couple scriptures for you to meditate on:
1 Corinthians 5:9-10:
I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people - not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.
You, right now...are IN this world...and will be unable to avoid all the ';garbage'; in it...unless you left this world. Even the Amish, who seclude themselves from the rest of society (don't use any electricity, etc.), have to deal with this issue!
Colossians 2:20:
Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as yough you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: ';Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!';? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgences.';
Read and meditate on this above...to search out its meaning.
Now then, you need not wonder what God's desire and will is for your life, for read this:
1 Thessalonians 4:3:
';It is God's will that you should be sanctified...';
That is, you are to be holy as He is holy, perfect as He is perfect, and righteous as He is righteous. You are to be conformed into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ - the perfection manifestation of His glory, the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us full of grace and truth.
Now, you know that all are sinners and fall short of the glory of God...and that we, as Christians, are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ...for we are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came in Christ Jesus!
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There is some truth in ';garbage in, garbage out';...you learned this...and your commitment sounds sincere, honest, and passionate in your devotion to Christ...and this is certainly good!
But know this...the world is full of garbage...and you cannot hide from all of it. No, instead, you are to shine like the salt of the earth and the light of the world that you are...so that others in the world may see your good works and glorify your Father, who is in Heaven!
You are not to be judged accoring to human restrictions...and, truth be known, you are not even judged by God's laws - for your righteousness comes by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. This is NOT a license to sin.
But to completely avoid all sin, you WOULD have to leave this world completely. But is that the right answer? No.
You will find in your walk with Christ that you can live FREELY...in moderation.
Some say, ';Don't drink alcohol!';
But is this in the Bible?
No...Jesus even turned 150 gallons of water into wine as His first miracle at a wedding party where people had already drunk a lot of alcohol!
And Paul even encourages Timothy to drink a little wine for his stomach.
But, of course...we are NOT to be drunk on alcohol...but filled with the Holy Spirit!
And...if it causes a fellow brother or sister to stumble, then we should refrain from alcohol for their edification.
Furthermore, if alcohol is a WEAK point for us...and our sinful nature ';takes over'; and if we drink one sip, we always end up drinking until we are drunk...then, YES...we should refrain from drinking the first sip!
But was that first sip sinful? No.
Was the drinking until we are drunk. Yes.
Furthermore, we are to obey the ';laws of the land';...so you really should not drink until you are 21! But *perhaps* there is even a little latitude in this...if you are with your family and parents on Thanksgiving, say, and you are 18, or so...and your parents let you have half a glass of wine. This, certainly, would not be ';the end of the world';. Even some churches provide wine for communion...and confirmed kids under the age of 21 freely and legally drink this alcohol!
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So how do we apply these truths to your specific question...?
I say...are your yet under the authority of your parents...?
We are to honor our mother and father...so it would be good and wise to be obedient to them, unless that were to be disobedient to God.
If you are desiring a richer walk with Christ...and your parents are OK with you watching the film...(as you suggest)
Then, it becomes your choice.
Do you feel that watching this film will cause you to sin or uncontrollably lead you to sin...?
If so, you have an easy answer. Don't watch it.
One problem is that we are often unaware of these things...and they subtly impact us even though we are unaware of their effects.
...this is where godly counsel helps...and hopefully, your parents provide you that...in addition to others, such as a youth minister or ';older wiser'; Christians in your church, etc...
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But as you grow more intimate with God, He actually changes your very desires...so that you won't even desire to do them. So it won't be your ';strength'; and ';committment'; that will ';enable'; you to avoid such temptations, but the strength of the Holy Spirit inside of you will change your desires so that these previous temptations won't even tempt you.
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So, there is no simple answer to your question.
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If your mom is a Christian...and has agreed to let you watch it together as a family...then discuss this more with her.
I Am Sam is a great movie...and very challenging on your emotions. I loved it. It will likely provoke a lot of great conversations and provide much opportunity to discuss Christian principles and the Gospel.
So, I would say you are erring on the side of Colossians 2:20...and such ';self-inflicted'; restraint will not end in you becoming more godly and more intimate with Christ.
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Consider listening to these FANTASTIC sermons by John Piper:
http://www.geocities.com/yachadhoo/JohnP鈥?/a>
These are great Christian sermons from a Christian conference I went to...directed at teenagers and young adults. They are amazing and life changing...and very challenging. They might turn you into a missionary, so beware. ;)
But they address your question...and many others that you are facing and more that you will face VERY soon.
Grace and peace in Christ be with you in abundance!
-I need advice form older wiser CHISTIANS please. Perplexed teenager has a question?
satan is always going to be tempting you to let him into your life. Our flesh is very weak. I would say not to watch it, since you have repented and trying to change. 1 bad word is too many. Keep yourself clean and pure, you will never regret it.
Watch the movie. There's no way you can avoid hearing certain words in your everyday life, unless you get isolated somewhere. And censoring such things don't really help. I wonder why christianity tries to keep people ignorant instead of giving access to information, encouraging people to be smart
Well if you made a promise to God you should keep it.
This is your choice. If your parents say it is OK to watch it, then I would trust them.
It's wonderful that you want to be careful what you listen to and watch on TV. It would be nice if more kids (and adults) would do that. The bad part is that we cannot completely remove violence, sex, and swearing from our lives, no matter how hard we try.
The goal, as I see it, is to try to limit how much swearing we hear, and how much violence we see.
Ask your parents to help you, as much as possible, to achieve your goal.
Good luck.
hah
live your life without restrictions
I wouldn't worry too much about it. Remember, there are parts of the bible that have sex and violence - certainly you wouldn't avoid that. View the film through the eyes of your Saviour and take what good you can from it and acknowledge the bad. The problem is desensitization - so be mindful.
allow the word of God to lead you,the book of Romans can be helpful,chapters 6,7,8and 9,also proverbs 3:verses 5%26amp;6,1 corithians chapters 2,5%26amp;6 also 3:16--23 and lastly psalms 1 you can continue to read all over until ou are sure you have heard from God,not mans opinion. mans greatest wisdom is foolish to God.allow me to add one more group to explain just a little of why people fear the word of God,Mathews 13:13--17,Hebrews 4:12--16,and 2 Timothy 3:15--17 i pray that God will lead ,guide and direct you
This is a good and serious question, and I'm going to give you a star for it, because it isn't a ';yes'; or ';no'; type question.
What is good and acceptable for a spiritual person?
There are garbage things out there that we cannot avoid living here on earth. While I try to avoid hanging out with people who have really foul mouths and constant negative attitudes, I certainly can't avoid all of it. It's up to me to try to avoid spending tons of time with people like that, but that's about all I can do.
When it comes to all aspects of entertainment we have the same problem. There is almost no movie that is totally clean, only you and prayer with God can decide what amount of negative is safe for you at your age, time and life. I think you were smart to go online and check out the content of the movie - now you know that it is basically a decent movie with a small amount of swearing. How much is too much? I can't answer that for you. It would depend on your age, the rest of the content of the show and your spirtual maturity.
Jesus was able to spend time with prostitutues, drunks and party animals and not be corupted. So sometimes that makes us feel that we're okay if we hang out with bad influences or listen to garbage ourselves. But consider why Jesus was with these people. He was there because he cared about them, and because he had something to offer to make their lives better. He wasn't there to get drunk or to use the women or gamble or party.
I think we need to consider these sort of things when we are in situations that aren't 100% good. Is there value in you being there? Are the negatives of being there worth it? Can you get something good out of the situation? Can you help someone else where they're at?
Anyhow, it sounds like you're on the right track. Too bad that there wasn't a simple black and white answer for you, but I think you will make the right choice. And when you make wrong choices in life, ask God to use them to help you grow and mature into being a person who lives for Him.
Dear ';OhEm'; -- part of being Christian means that we are in the world but not of the world. There are many things to experience that can detract from our walk with God - but there does not need to be any detraction, it depends on our own selves and where we are in our walk.
God knows us better than anyone, even better than we know our own selves, and so whatever we see or do or are exposed to, God knows these things as well as our own reactions to them - even those reactions we try to hide from our own selves.
I'm grieved to know you deleted songs from your mp3 player. Those songs must have meant something to you or they would not have been on your player to begin with. . .and because you wouldn't want to share them with your pastor? That is especially sad. If your pastor is any pastor at all, he will acknowledge that all things come from God, and all evil is merely something gifted to us from God but turned inside out so as to be a curse of some sort -- and so your pastor should be able to talk to you about what appeals to you about your music and help you find the God-gift in those human-made things.
But possibly your pastor is not so far along as that, and so it would be inappropriate to share such things with him. I hope this is not the case for you, and I find it highly unlikely though I've seen it happen.
You are correct that you need to guard your heart against the devil - and a big part of that includes not allowing the devil to steal from us things that God originally gave as gifts. There are many hard realities in human life and these things are often brutal and so we guard against becoming desensitized against them.. Often these things are puzzling - and to these we need to guard our hearts by not becoming distracted by anything that would take our mind and heart off God our Creator, and God Jesus our redeemer.
So dear, in the process of guarding your heart, my advice to you is this -- Always keep your heart and mind and spirit on God in all ways. And if you are presented with opportunities to see or do things that would challenge your beliefs, then by all means, be challenged and recieve that as a gift from God to help you deepen your faith / relationship in Him. But if you are uncomfortable, then that is the reason to refrain. . . if you enjoy your music, ask yourself if this detracts from your relationship with God? Rather than asking yourself if this is something you can share with your Pastor or anyone else.
Guarding your heart means to always look for the ways this life points to and shows you God. :) Look at it this way, and then even if you are thrown into a situation that rocks your world, you will come through it by asking God to show you His message in it all rather than trying to escape the inescapeable because it doesn't fit someone's list of things that are ';allowable';.
-M
watch the movie. and enjoy it. mom gave you the ok so go ahead!
and calm down. dont stress so much over it. you can always say a little prayer afterwards. the way i hear it God will forgive you as many times as you need.
James 4:17 says that if we know how to do what is right and yet do not do it then we are sinning.This is a question each Christian sooner or later has to answer for himself.You choose the degree that you serve God and he wishes for whole souled service.The bible says not to be luke warm .He gives rich blessings for putting him before our desires.
If it is God you desire to please, you must ask him. You can read his will for Christians as to what they should be thinking about in Philippians 4:6-9:
'Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is virtuous or praiseworthy - think about such things.'
Meditate and pray on that passage, and you will know peace in your heart once you determine what to do on this matter. Be blessed!
I think that the reason you would ask this question in itself is the answer. If you didn't feel a 'tugging' at your heart in this situation then you would know that it was ok. BUT...I think the Holy Spirit helps us and guides us into all truth. Now....I think I Am Sam is a good movie, and if you know what or where the cuss words are, then just fast forward through those scenes. This movie is one of the cleaner ones I have viewed in a while.
Blessings to you
Welcome back to reality.
You are dancing on breaking the first commandment. ';I am the lord your God, you shall have no others before me.'; This means put God first. You know you shouldnt be watching that movie now and if you watch it, you are putting that movie before God hence breaking the first commandment. You've just come back from your retreat and satan is trying to pull you away from God already with temptation.
Sweetheart. I am a youth minister in the intercity. Sometimes I think my kids' favorite word is the f-bomb. They say it without thinking, sometimes even when describing a religious question to me. Words can be vulgar but harmless, perfect proper english can be hurtful and hateful. As a Christian I am uncomfortable when I see negative things in movies , tv etc. But I do not shut myself off from the world. As you grow as a person and a Christian you will be living in a world that at times will shock you. You don't have to wear blinders, just don't let it inside of you. My advice is trust your mother's judgment, watch the movie and ask yourself, ';why did the producers and writers of this movie feel the need to say those ';cuss'; words. Was it necessary to the story or did they do it just to be vulgar. For example, if someone is visiting someone in prison and this person cusses, that is reality, if they have a child say it to sound ';cute'; or in place of normal conversation, it wasn't necessary was it.
I want to tell you a story I once heard.
There was a family of two boys and one dad (the mom left). The boys really wanted to watch a movie that the dad said was bad. They did lots of research and found that there were more pros then cons. Their dad agreed to it if they would eat a brownie he made. It was made with real chocolate and nuts and it smelled great. It was made with their fathers love. The only bad thing about it was there was a little bit of dog poo in it. The dad said he had stirred it very well and you probably couldn't even taste it. If they ate the dog poo brownie they could go watch the movie. It is very similar to the movie. There were a few cuss words and bad language but other than that it looked great. Would you eat the brownie?
This may be something you don't want to hear but God will reward you if you make the right choice. I have used this story in my life too.
By the way, great job deleting all that bad music and stuff! I know it can be hard but I will pray for you!
: )
Some may say ';Watch it, it is only a Movie';, others may say ';Resist, this is the work of the devil'; but what is the difference between watching a movie that cusses %26amp; being in a conversation where people cuss?
The ones who think they know the words of Christ may say ';then dont be around people who cuss'; however did our Saviour not come for the lost? or was he only here for the Healthy and is it an act of love or selfishness where we choose to ignore the lost? We we not lost before?
Matt: 12:33-37
';For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks, The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him %26amp; the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart';
Tell me... how many movies have you watch which changed your perspective on things?
Remember that everything around you is trying to turn you away from God and it is your choice what you do with the time you have in this world.
God Bless
You don't have to be legalistic to be a good Christian. I am sure one movie isn't going to destroy your walk.
The harder you try to avoid everything that's wrong with this world, the more frustrated you will get. You can't avoid it all and you must, unfortunately, accept this fact of life. You can only do your best and just try to ignore the things that offend you. You said it yourself; 'garbage in, garbage out'.
Having been imbued in the world much as Achilles in the River Styx, I must give you this advice: God Himself will come to you and guard your heart with HIS!!! Pray often this prayer: ';Sacred Heart of Jesus I place all my trust in You.';
Make a novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
If you build it, He will come.
Your heart is a temple that no one can breach but God.
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