Him and rejecting messages that violate His principles. James 1 says:
21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
Yes, we are to "hear" the Word of God and we are called, I believe, to reject the messages from the world to which we're exposed. That's one element from these verses. But, not only are we to hear the Word, but we are to be doers of it; I believe that we make God's Word a priority regarding what we take into our minds and spirit, but we don't just leave it there - we act accordingly. The Bible is more than a collection of wise sayings - it has power that we so desperately need each day.
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We have to be so careful in how we process the messages that are being sent to us. Here are some
words of instruction - and caution - from Proverbs 16:
22 Understanding is a wellspring of life to him who has it. But the correction of fools is folly.
23 The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, And adds learning to his lips.
24 Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.
25 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
It seems as if there has been a collision, no, an infiltration of so-called "progressive" politics with professional sports. The overblown controversy with 49ers' quarterback Colin Kaepernick and his refusal to stand for the National Anthem was thought by some to be responsible for a decline in the NFL's television ratings during the season; others thought it was the lack of exciting games.
Well, the NFL certainly made up for some of the season's (and the playoff's) lack of excitement with a dramatic overtime game involving the Patriots and the Falcons. It was a game that some might say, had everything, including its share of messaging that would be considered contrary to the values taught in the Bible.
First of all, a good word for the NFL, according to the Family Research Council website, which pointed out that the host city, Houston, in the eyes of one prominent businessman who fought to get the game there, is "doing just fine after repealing the city's controversial bathroom bill..." The FRC piece points out: "Unlike the NCAA and NBA," the NFL "...ignored the politics and followed the money. Does anyone honestly believe that if the decision to restore order to Houston's public restrooms, locker rooms, and showers would have depressed returns or turnout that the NFL would have agreed to keep it there? Of course not. They're a profit-driven entity. You can bet they studied the revenue models even after picking Houston as the host city-- and in doing so, blew a huge hole in the Left's bogus claims."
That, of course, is a reference to the now-overturned "sexual orientation and gender identity" bill that resulted in the former mayor actually issuing subpoenas for pastors' sermons. Good thing that debacle is now in the rear-view mirror.
But, politics were there, from the addition of the word "sisterhood" in a performance of America the Beautiful by members of the Hamilton cast to an seemingly apolitical performance by Lady Gaga which included LGBT anthem, Born This Way. The Chicago Tribune stated:
"Lady Gaga keeps political poker face while singing of inclusion at Super Bowl," announced the Guardian. "Lady Gaga steers clear of politics in Super Bowl show," claimed the Hill. Breitbart, Fox and various other outlets published articles with similar headlines.She opened the set with God Bless America, with the site of hundreds of drones lit red, white, and blue in the background and segued to This Land is Your Land, which the Tribune points out was a protest anthem by Woody Guthrie, who had grown tired of hearing Kate Smith sing, God Bless America. You might say there might have been a "not my America" motivation.
Some, though, argued Gaga included a veiled message with her song choices. Much has been noted of her set's inclusion of "Born This Way," "a melodic celebration of 'gay, straight, or bi, lesbian, transgender life.'"
Of course, then there were the commercials. Some examples: A Google Home spot opened with a rainbow flag being flown in front of a house. An 84 Lumber spot was pointed out as appearing to promote illegal immigration. Airbnb ran a commercial including the line, quoted by Newsbusters, “We believe no matter who you are, where you’re from, who you love, or who you worship, we all belong. The world is more beautiful the more you accept.” The winner of USA Today's annual Admeter, a spot for Kia, featured the overexposed Melissa McCarthy, with an environmentalist twist. T-Mobile produced spots that were characterized as takeoffs of the objectionable movie, 50 Shades of Gray. Parents Television Council called out the dark movie trailers that peppered the broadcast.
If there's ever a time when we need God to bless America, it's now, it seems. And, fasten your seat belts, the Grammys will be handed out this Sunday night, with the Oscars on deck.
These Super Bowl instances really speak to the power of messaging. The political aspects of some of this material may have been lost on some, but as people of faith, I believe we are encouraged to a higher calling. We have to be people of discernment, and accept messages that line up with or even do not violate our deeply held values and reject those that do not.
The imagery, the technology, the creativity can make for an attractive container of messages that can be harmful to our spirits. If we're not careful, we can find ourselves desensitized to the things of the Spirit. God does not desire for us to be compromised in our beliefs, but if we open our hearts to a greater degree to messages that are not consistent with His teachings, we can find ourselves less fervent in our faith.
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