Monday, October 31, 2005
The Looming Effect Of Modern Cultural Expression On The Family And Interpersonal Relationships ( Or: Love in the Movies )
Ok. As I have gotten older there are some things that have become apparent to me:
Granny's home cookin' really isn't that good for you.
I'm not really as strong physically as I always thought I was.
Most 80's cartoons are not NEARLY as good as i always thought they were.
Love and Relationships do NOT happen like they do in the movies.
Growing up as many of us have with the world's popular culture crammed in our face like it is, we have come to expect our lives to play out in a similar fashion to the moveis and t.v. shows that we love so much. We go through our day to day lives, seemingly disappointed because they simply are not as exciting, as rivetting, as well cast, or as well directed as the typical romantic drama or action film that is shown at the good ole Cinema 12.
Thanks, in part, to movies like Dirty Dancing, The Princess Bride, Say Anything, Pretty in Pink, When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and countless others the American perspective on life and love has been unreversably skewed. We, specifically the younger generations, have come to compare our lives to that of the characters projected on the silver screen... and, in that light, our lives do fall miserably short in the excitement and romance departments. It is as if we have come to expect that our love lives must be very exciting, ultimately compelling, and visually astounding in order to be considered acceptable and real. So, as a result, people jump from love scene to love scene, searching ultimately for the co-star with whom the scene feels the most sensuous... thus whenever that feeling of ellation wears off they are left doubting the actuality of their relationship which ultimately leads to casting call after casting call of "actors" who are looking to fill the part of the enthralling young lover.
God's origionaly design for love was much different than this adrenaline based "love" that has become the accepted norm. Lets have a short Bible lesson, shall we?
...God Is Love (1 John 4:8). In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:9-10) Now, God's love for us is not based on feelings or emotions, or the realization of the "scene." His love for us is a perfect choice, and it is on that choice that we are to base our love for others, romantic or otherwise. Our flesh is a weak, yet demanding, master. Fueled by chemical reactions and pheromones, it is easily swayed by things as simple as food, physical feeling, and desire. The problem is that it can many times be difficult or impossible to sift through the feelings that are fed to our minds by our bodies and discover which is love and which is emotion. Thus, the litmas test on which we must draw our conclusions is Jesus Christ. Love centered around self or the partner is doomed from the start. Only a true, Christ centered love can withstand the years of hard times, harsh words, difficult decisions, and tedious scrutiny that is marriage.
Since God is love we automatically know that without God there is no love. A relationship built on any foundation other than that of the True Corner Stone is not True love. Knowing this fact we must carefully and purposefully construct our relationships on Christ, with the understanding that is to be the center focus of any relationship... especially the relationship between man and wife.
-Bo
--------------------------------
"A masterful triumph of vision, storytelling, and execution. A lesson that will thrill you, chill, you and spill you out onto the pavement! The Love Story has never never been so well told!" - The Grassy Times
--------------------------------
Granny's home cookin' really isn't that good for you.
I'm not really as strong physically as I always thought I was.
Most 80's cartoons are not NEARLY as good as i always thought they were.
Love and Relationships do NOT happen like they do in the movies.
Growing up as many of us have with the world's popular culture crammed in our face like it is, we have come to expect our lives to play out in a similar fashion to the moveis and t.v. shows that we love so much. We go through our day to day lives, seemingly disappointed because they simply are not as exciting, as rivetting, as well cast, or as well directed as the typical romantic drama or action film that is shown at the good ole Cinema 12.
Thanks, in part, to movies like Dirty Dancing, The Princess Bride, Say Anything, Pretty in Pink, When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and countless others the American perspective on life and love has been unreversably skewed. We, specifically the younger generations, have come to compare our lives to that of the characters projected on the silver screen... and, in that light, our lives do fall miserably short in the excitement and romance departments. It is as if we have come to expect that our love lives must be very exciting, ultimately compelling, and visually astounding in order to be considered acceptable and real. So, as a result, people jump from love scene to love scene, searching ultimately for the co-star with whom the scene feels the most sensuous... thus whenever that feeling of ellation wears off they are left doubting the actuality of their relationship which ultimately leads to casting call after casting call of "actors" who are looking to fill the part of the enthralling young lover.
God's origionaly design for love was much different than this adrenaline based "love" that has become the accepted norm. Lets have a short Bible lesson, shall we?
...God Is Love (1 John 4:8). In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:9-10) Now, God's love for us is not based on feelings or emotions, or the realization of the "scene." His love for us is a perfect choice, and it is on that choice that we are to base our love for others, romantic or otherwise. Our flesh is a weak, yet demanding, master. Fueled by chemical reactions and pheromones, it is easily swayed by things as simple as food, physical feeling, and desire. The problem is that it can many times be difficult or impossible to sift through the feelings that are fed to our minds by our bodies and discover which is love and which is emotion. Thus, the litmas test on which we must draw our conclusions is Jesus Christ. Love centered around self or the partner is doomed from the start. Only a true, Christ centered love can withstand the years of hard times, harsh words, difficult decisions, and tedious scrutiny that is marriage.
Since God is love we automatically know that without God there is no love. A relationship built on any foundation other than that of the True Corner Stone is not True love. Knowing this fact we must carefully and purposefully construct our relationships on Christ, with the understanding that is to be the center focus of any relationship... especially the relationship between man and wife.
-Bo
--------------------------------
"A masterful triumph of vision, storytelling, and execution. A lesson that will thrill you, chill, you and spill you out onto the pavement! The Love Story has never never been so well told!" - The Grassy Times
--------------------------------
