Screened

In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 6, Jesus spoke powerfully about what we allow our 
eyes to see and how we process that information. We can read:
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 "The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.
23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

I believe that Jesus is warning us to be careful what we allow into our minds - the eye is one of the gateways through which content enters; if we accept content that is contrary to our beliefs, then it enters our minds and ultimately can pollute our spirits, if we do not reject it.  That is why it's important to build a spiritual firewall - there is so much information, and we have to be cautious to accept or reject what we are exposed to and take steps to protect our eyes and minds from what could be detrimental to our spiritual lives.

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We can be wise in the choices we make, including in the areas of entertainment, making sure our convictions determine our decisions. Psalm 101 states:
2 I will behave wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when will You come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.
3 I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me.
4 A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness.

The entertainment company said it was coming, but it may have been sooner than some might have expected - recently, the Hallmark Channel aired a movie called, Wedding Every Weekend, about which its promotional videos, according to ChristianNews.net, "depict a scene where two women 'wed' each other." The article says:

“It really reflects the world that we live in now,” states actress Makayla Moore in a behind-the-scenes video. “It’s exciting to celebrate love in all its forms.”

She and actress Carmel Amit, who play Amanda and Vicky, “wed” each other in the movie as a minor role.

One of the lead actors Paul Campbell, who plays the role of a man who attends wedding after wedding with a female friend and eventually they become involved themselves, said in in the promotional video, "What is so important about what we’re doing in this movie is acknowledging the fact that love is love..."

That is a trite phrase that has become somewhat of a mantra for LGBTQ individuals - it is called "love," but Romans 1 offers a different opinion, describing homosexuality as a practice that is not pleasing to God. It satisfies sinful passions, so while some call it love, it doesn't reflect God's ideal and meet His definition of love.

Hallmark's capitulation to the gay agenda will come as a disappointment to Christian families who have come to trust the channel to program family-friendly movies, especially during the Christmas season.  The ChristianNews.net article relates:

As previously reported, in December, the Hallmark Channel reinstated airing a same-sex commercial from the wedding planning site Zola after initially pulling the advertisement as it was “distracting from the purpose of [the] network.”

The company said it would also work with the homosexual advocacy organization GLAAD to make the channel more inclusive of homosexuals.

“Hallmark will be working with GLAAD to better represent the LGBTQ community across our portfolio of brands,” it stated.

And, the article states: 

Parent company Crown Media Family Networks advised last month that it is in “active negotiations” as it plans to include “LGBT storylines” in its “Countdown to Christmas” and “Miracles of Christmas” programming later this year.

The story says that a Crown Media spokesman told NBC News that the channel would be announcing "LGBTQ storylines, characters, and actors," part of an "exciting" series of announcements.

You can be looking forward to faith- and family-friendly movies coming in the next few months. Labor Day weekend will present two offerings in the Christian space, including a movie coming to streaming called, Switched, in which two different young female characters - one popular and one not - switch bodies.  Nicole Weider of Project Inspired, who will be on The Meeting House soon discussing the film, said, according to The Christian Post, “Switched has the power to change people’s lives and give perspective to students who are struggling with bullying and comparison in school,” adding, “I am so excited to see the ways this film will positively impact the lives of young women.”  Weider is Executive Producer of and and actor in the film.

Also on Labor Day Weekend, as the article points out, through its own new streaming channel, Sight and Sound Theatres, which reopened its two locations a few weeks ago, will offer a live performance of Queen Esther.  Katie Miller from Sight and Sound will also be on the radio show soon.  Miller is quoted by The Christian Post as saying: "This year has been incredibly challenging, but we continue to see the faithfulness of God each step of the way...After canceling over 200 shows, and knowing that hundreds of thousands of people would not be able to experience the powerful message of 'Queen Esther,' we knew we had to do something."

Other upcoming films include The Order of Rights, which apparently offers a pro-life perspective on the humanity of an unborn child, Small Group: The Movie, which depicts a filmmaker who discovers the vibrancy of Christians gathering together, Never Again, which explores the prevalence and effects of anti-Semitism, and 2 Hearts, which follows the lives of two couples and how they are drawn together by life's experiences.  Later in the fall, you can expect, When We Last Spoke and The Farmer and the Belle: Saving Santaland.

One of things that occurs to me is that our entertainment choices, like our other choices in life, should be consistent with our Christian beliefs.  The Bible is clear about what we should and should not allow to penetrate our minds. And, while Hallmark has made an ill-informed decision to follow the culture, even though I believe the company miscalculated the equation of how the new LGBTQ-friendly people it may pick up will not offset the large numbers of viewers that it may lose, it certainly has a right to do so, and all viewers have a right to decide not to watch - it's the beauty of the free market. 

Fortunately, the free market of ideas can allow Christians to make movies, too, and to market them and hope people will be attracted to good stories, well-made films, and a Biblical worldview. Witness how it appears that I Still Believe, which portrays the love story between Christian musical artist Jeremy Camp and his late, first wife, will be playing in a number of theatres once they reopen in the next few days - it did well enough when it opened in March just as COVID-19 began to spread that it remains viable, apparently.  We can strive to communicate truth to our culture.  Fortunately, as I mentioned yesterday, Christian radio generally and Faith Radio specifically continue to make powerful statements to a culture that needs to hear the gospel.