Real Life

One of the desires that I have for The Meeting House program, which I host on Faith Radio, is to show that there is not a line of separation between the, as it's been called, "secular and the sacred." The life of faith in Christ is not some sort of alternative universe, a separate box from everyday life. The Bible gives us principles that we can follow that will lead to abundant life, as Jesus described it. 2nd Peter chapter 1 states:
2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,
3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,
4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Verse 3 of 2nd Peter chapter 1 refers to "life and godliness."  By God's power, the power of the Holy Spirit, we have been given incredible resources that, as the verse says, "pertain" to those entities. I believe that means that if we are devoted to Christ, as born-again believers, we have the resources available to us in order to confront and respond in a godly manner to any challenge we might face.  Jesus is sufficient, and He provides all we need in order to navigate this fallen world.

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The Bible certainly addresses real-life attitudes and behaviors - by the direction of the Word and power of the Spirit, we can conduct ourselves in a way that brings glory to God and peace to our lives. Ephesians 4 contains several practical instructions:
25 Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another.
26 "Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath,
27 nor give place to the devil.
28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.
29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

Our lives may sometimes seem like a drama that has gone off script - spiraling out of control.  But, in those times, we have to remember who really is in control and not respond to the drama with more drama, but rather to respond with a display of the presence of Christ in us.

There's a new dramatic series that has been released at PureFlix.com. It's called Hilton Head Island and it's essentially a daytime-ish drama, a "soap opera," that, according to Movieguide, has been
self-described" as a "hope opera." It's set around a television network called the ISLE, which the article says "is a family dominated corporation."  When the head of the network collapses and goes into a coma, the family dynamics go into play, for better or worse.  The Movieguide story relates:

With Daniel Trisk’s subsequent comatose state and precarious future comes family power struggles for control of the company and its programming. Along with spouse Victoria and the Trisk siblings, throw in the latter’s spouses, and in addition, various network employees, and the result is ambition on steroids; hence the classic set of subplots of this genre. The clash of two worldviews consequently ensues over the course of the series; it is battle between an “anything goes” paganism pursuing sexual pleasure, fame, wealth, and power versus a Biblical, Christian perspective that promotes faith, truth, prayer, marriage fidelity, sexual purity, and a servant’s heart.

The role of Daniel is played by Michael Swan of As the World Turns and The Bold and the Beautiful, and Victoria is played by Donna Mills - yet, that Donna Mills from Knots Landing.  Antonio Sabato Jr. from General Hospital plays one of the Trisk sons. Unfortunately, Movieguide, while complimentary of the concept, is not particularly pleased with what it portrays as inadequate production values.  It called the filming "reckless."

I think you could say that at least PureFlix is wading into a genre that has been dominated by suggestive content throughout the years.  The article from Movieguide suggests that foul language and nudity are not present, although there are implied illicit encounters that occur - off-screen.  There can certainly be redemptive elements that are interjected into real-life situations...such as the ones we encounter each day. 

Again, real life can sometimes be dramatic and challenging.  We should always keep in mind that Scripture speaks to those challenges.  God's Word offers us hope in the drama, and His presence goes with us as we navigate the issues we encounter.  There may be relationship challenges, perhaps workplace conflict.  When humans get together, there is the potential for misunderstandings.  There may even be people who might be considered toxic, or deceptive.  And, we can hope that's not us. 

But, we can live above the drama.  If we are swept up and overcome by the pressures to conform or compromise, then we were run the risk of extinguishing the light of Christ.  We are to be people of integrity, and honor God not by trying to defeat or deceive someone else, but to be truthful and trustworthy.  We are not called to generate more drama with anger and frustration, but to reflect the peace that passes all understanding.  We are called to be distinctive and to allow our beliefs, rooted in Scripture, to guide us as we apply those principles to the everyday decisions and encounters we face.