Doesn't Have to be Distasteful

Because of the presence of Christ within us, we can walk in a way that is distinct from the world. We are not of this world, but Jesus has placed us within this world in order to shine His light, to be a strong witness for Him. We can read these words of exhortation in 1st John chapter 2:
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world.
17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

The Movieguide website has spotlighted comedian Nate Bargatze recently, not only to announce his starring role in a commercial that was shown during the Super Bowl, but also to highlight the influence that another Christian comic had on his life. The article states:

Nate Bargatze is grateful to God for putting a fellow Christian comedian in his life early on in his career.

“God [is] watching me all the time — the fact that He put me with you,” Bargatze said during an episode of Anjelah Johnson-Reyes’s FUNJELAH podcast. “Because, imagine if — I could have went out with so many other comics that do not have God in their life and are just dudes that are going to be dumb and whatever. That could have been — we were together so long, that could have spiraled me into a whole other realm, but He put me with you, someone that was like-minded with me.”

He added, “You’ve openly always talked about your faith, and so that was just nice for me to see.”

The article went on to say:

In a 2019 interview with Relevant Magazine, he said that when he started working as a comedian in Chicago, it was “the first time that I ever met people that either weren’t religious or didn’t believe in God.”

“A lot of people that I was around weren’t Christians and didn’t grow up in the church or anything,” Bargatze continued. “Sometimes guys can go away from that, but it just made me get more into it, because I just thought, ‘Why do you think you’re right?’ I’ve always said I trust my parents more than I trust anybody else I ever met.”

The Movieguide piece also referenced a Fox News interview, in which he said: “It’s how I grew up. I grew up that way. I come from a Christian family and Southern Christian, so I wasn’t allowed to watch anything, which I talk about in the special. And so growing up and only watching clean comedians, it was just how I was going to be. And it would feel forced if I was not.”  That Fox article, from 2023, also related these words:

Nate Bargatze recently celebrated his 20th year as a successful clean Christian comedian.

The 43-year-old comic, who has been dubbed the "nicest man in stand-up" debuted his Amazon Prime Video special "Hello World" last month after rising to fame with two hit Netflix specials, 2019's "The Tennessee Kid" and 2021's Grammy Award-nominated "The Great Average American."

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Bargatze explained that he chose a career in clean comedy — a family-friendly genre that is free of swearing, crude material or sexual references — largely because he felt that he couldn't tell dirty jokes in front of his parents.

"I think I still feel I will get in trouble," the Nashville native admitted.

And, beyond that, of course, the Savior Nate Bargatze serves will be watching. Yet, there are entertainment performers and writers who do not know God or do not respect or reverence Him. For years, the entertainment industry was dominated by films without language or sexual content. Now, it seems par for the course - with gratuitous sexual innuendo, inappropriate humor, and objectionable language that doesn't have to be there.  But, it's a reflection of the world we live in and of hose who are so steeped in the ways of this world that those are the values that they have adopted - unfortunately, families in general and Christian families in particular are finding their entertainment options more limited. 

Just this week, Movieguide released findings of a survey that shows that, as a summary said: "A new annual study of the top movies released in the United States and Canada shows that American moviegoers reject movies with scenes of explicit sex and sexual nudity in them."  The summary says: 

...only two of the Top 25 Movies at the Box Office in the United States and Canada in 2024, or 8%, had any strong, depicted or explicit sexual content, and all of the Top 25 had no depicted or explicit sexual nudity whatsoever!

Similar results were found with the Top 25 Movies at the Overseas Box Office in 2024. Only 12% had any strong, depicted or explicit sexual content, and all of the Top 25 Movies Overseas had no depicted or explicit sexual nudity.

Movies with no sexual content yielded a take of 3.8 billion in the 2024 box office.  That's just under half of the total box office dollars.  But, Hollywood continues to turn out products that are offensive to family viewers, at the expense of profitability.

Because, well, the ways of this world are so ingrained - you might say that's who these people are.  Nate Bargatze has become a popular comedian, even though he's a professing Christian and offers countercultural material.  Entertainment doesn't have to be distasteful.  But, sinners are going to sin, right?!

And, that's what comes down to you and me.  The Bible has declared that we are no longer sinners, but were are saints in the Lord.  So, if we believe what Scripture says about our identity, we should act accordingly.   We must reject worldliness when we are being tempted, when worldly ideas invade our consciousness, and replace the desires of the world with the direction of God's Word.