1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
I think that we can consider that choices we make determine the direction of our spiritual lives, and even little things can have big consequences. We must be vigilant to put on the full armor of God each day, to make sure that we are not allowing the influences of this world to get us distracted. The Bible, in Hebrews 12, talks about fixing our eyes on Jesus - He is described there as the author and finisher of our faith - we can make choices that are consistent with strengthening our walk with Him.
The senses are connected to our minds, and our minds are the gateway to our hearts, or our spirits, as it's been taught. We have the power to choose what we allow to take root into our minds and reject what does not line up with God's principles. 2nd Corinthians 10 says:
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
Yesterday, we talked about rejecting the wisdom of this world and protecting our hearts and minds. That's especially important in the entertainment choices that we make. So, we have to know where to go to access material that is consistent with our Christian values.
In May it was announced that the cable channel Great American Family would be merging with streaming service Pure Flix. I remember wondering what that might look like. Well, in July, viewers received taste of that through shared content.
Great American Family concentrated on Christmas movies in July, and according to Movieguide, "This year, ‘Christmas in July’ will also be available on Pure Flix as a result of a recent merger between GAF and the popular Sony Pictures Television streaming platform." The creator of Great American Family, Bill Abbott, said, regarding the merger: “It’s a merger of like minded missions,” adding, “The reality of both services is that they’ll be impacted by each other. I think the Great American family will benefit from the strong faith components that Pure Flix has done so well over the years, and Great American Pure Flix, we could call it, will be the beneficiary of the lighter fare that has done so well on Great American family [sic].”
Abbott, you may be aware, is the founder of what is now known as Great American Family, after leaving a leadership position at the Hallmark Channel. He said:
“We started [GAF] with a belief that the majority of people are tired of what they see on TV, and that there isn’t a place that allows viewers to come to and be inspired and uplifted and have faith and family at the forefront of what they view,” Abbott told Movieguide® in a recent interview. “They can’t watch with their families. We want to be that outlet.”
“The vast majority, if not all, of the entertainment outlets in the business are edgy and salacious, they are the bottom of the barrel in terms of the content that they produce,” he continued. “We wanted to be the quality creator of everything that is faith and family for viewers.”
And, what Great American Family is doing seems to be working; as Movieguide reported:
Great American Family has reached a new ratings milestone — it’s now the fastest-growing network among viewers, and continues to hold its spot as the fastest-growing network on TV.
Nielsen Media Research reported that Great American Family finished the second quarter of 2023 as the “Fastest-growing network on TV in Total Day Women 25-54 (+83%), Households (+214%) and Total Viewers (+216%); and Primetime Households (+178%) and Total Viewers (+167%).”
The "fastest-growing" distinction has belonged to the network for much of 2023.
Pure Flix, which is now owned by Sony, which has provided resources for the sustaining of the streaming service, has found a niche in providing faith- and family-friendly programming. It also has been involved in launching a number of original movies and series. Now, it appears that Great American Family will be making its content available through streaming on the platform - this is especially important for viewers who may not have access to Great American Family through their cable systems.
Make no mistake, the Hallmark Channel, while it has become a staple of romantic, even family-friendly viewing, has become committed to LGBT "inclusion." You could say that it is certainly better than most in portraying wholesome values, but - buyer beware! Consider last year's The Holiday Sitter. Star Michael Bennett is quoted by the Deadline website in an article from last December: “We’re doing all the classic things that we love in Hallmark movies...We’re doing the tropes that we’ve come to love and expect from watching Hallmark movies. We’re just turning up the comedy and having two men as the leads instead of the classic straight couple. The audience is going to see two men meet and fall for each other in the exact same way that a man and a woman meet and fall for each other. That’s literally the only difference with The Holiday Sitter. It’s based in love.”
The article quoted from Hallmark Executive Vice-President Lisa Hamilton Daly:
“We felt that it was time for a story with a gay couple,” says Daly, who in April signed Bennett to an exclusive, multi-picture deal. “We are really trying to make it so that everybody sees themselves when they tune in. We are trying to stay true to the Hallmark brand values, one of which is inclusiveness. It’s a true of Hallmark cards, which has a card for every kind of occasion. In the past, there was a focus on one particular kind of love story, and I think everybody thought, ‘wow, we’re not telling the whole story here.'”
The Holiday Sitter lands at a time when gay rom-coms are having a moment. Besides the release of Bros in September — which is now streaming on Peacock — there’s also Michael Ausiello’s sweet tearjerker Spoiler Alert, which opens today. It also comes after Candace Cameron Bure faced backlash for telling the Wall Street Journal that the Great American Family network will “keep traditional marriage at the core” and not do movies with same sex couples.
I would just say I hope that Great American Family, and other services that wear the faith-and-family brand uphold that commitment. Because, who would have thought 10 years ago that Hallmark would have made this distinct change of direction? The pressure is intense to accept "alternative," i.e. unbiblical lifestyles, and while we are certainly called, as Christians, to love those in the LGBT community, that doesn't mean that we are to glorify the behavior.
Again, we have to make sure that our thinking continues to be built on the firm foundation of Biblical truth. Because the power of those "high things" that are exalted against God to which Scripture refers is strong - the culture wants to soften us up in our convictions, but we must remain firm.
We also have to govern what we allow into our homes and onto our phones and other ways we view content. The enemy would want to gain a foothold, and technology gives him a plethora of ways to do it. But, likewise, we have access to various resources that can help strengthen us. We have to make the decision to open our minds to what lines up with Philippians 4:8, to think on what lines up with the principles of Scripture, and reject the philosophies of this world.
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