The long-term effects of Jones’ diatribe are unclear – Will he lose his job? Will people actually quit watching? – but the short-term effects are quite clear, and predictable. Jones is being lambasted as a hypocrite, people who’ve never paid attention to the show are intrigued, and every controversial statement Jones’ pastor has ever made on anything is being laid bare for the world to lampoon.
Angus, why?
Why do Christians who gain a platform in the entertainment world (or in this case, someone who has a platform and becomes a Christian) do this? Answers range from “He really believes it” (in which case, why doesn’t he just quit the show?) to “He can’t hold back – let the chips fall where they may.” He’s not the only believer in the entertainment industry, and saying no gracefully to compromising or offensive material is a perennial issue for Christians in Hollywood. I can imagine it makes many of them sad to see this. After trying to establish Christians as people of character and conviction, Jones undercuts them in one interview, feeding the stereotype that Christians are maniacal and judgmental, holier-than-thou.
Now, it is true that Jones’ videotaped testimony was not meant for public consumption. So when he says, “Please stop watching it,” he’s appealing to a closed group – the Christians who are sitting through his hour long testimony. But really? Is he the only 19-year-old on the planet who’s unaware of how easily videos can be posted to the Internet? It’s pretty hard to believe – impossible, in fact – that he didn’t expect the whole world to see this.
Jones has (or at least, he had) a sphere of influence. In my estimation, he blew it. There will be some die-hards who defend what he said and think he did exactly the right thing in launching a full-scale frontal assault on his own show. They’ll call it courageous and say it’s about time Christians crusade against Hollywood.
Are they wrong? Well, tactically, yes. And that’s where your kid comes in. Your kids have a sphere of influence. They, too, are being asked to consume questionable or objectionable media material. Let’s estimate it happens, oh, daily. They pass it on (or not) via likes or shares on Facebook, by downloading and posting and pinning…when they talk about a video “going viral”, kids are often the engines of that, the “carriers” of the virus, facilitating the outbreak.
This is opportunity city. In fact, ask your kids, right now: If a friend were to send you a video that’s inappropriate, what would you do? (And I’m not talking about pornography; that one’s pretty clear-cut. I’m talking about scenes with innuendo, music videos or lyrics that are suggestive, dialogue that normalizes or jokes about marital unfaithfulness or premarital sex – in other words, the stuff people watch.) Then, ask them the more interesting questions: How would you know if something was inappropriate? and What makes some things appropriate or inappropriate? This could open up a fruitful dialogue about why, exactly, the things we see and hear affect the way we think and feel. (Really - go ahead and ask them; I’ll be waiting here when you get back.)
It’s rare to find a kid who would launch into a lecture of his friends about why a particular piece of media is inappropriate or “filthy” and why no one who calls themselves a good Christian would ever watch it or take part in it. And it turns out that instinct is correct! If Christians start speaking like aliens, people will soon regard us as – well – aliens. It’s the classic “in-the-world-but-not-of-it” dilemma. Are we called apart? Yes. Are we the salt of the earth and light of the world? Yes.
But what sometimes gets lost is that life is not about media choices. The substance of my life does not equate to the media choices I make. The significance of life is wrapped up in its design. Just as a table was meant to be a table, and its worth can be judged by its success or failure at that, human worth is entwined with the imago Dei, the image of God. And that means we always reflect the image of God – but each to a greater or lesser degree. Can you make someone care about that? I don’t know. But until they do, they won’t care much about the thoughts and ideas they take in. Or they will care, but it’ll be a misplaced concern because they think life is about scoring 100% on the naughty/nice exam rather than about growth and maturing and purpose and relationships and sanctification and knowing the heart and will of God.
So in a way, Angus got it right. But his execution was tone deaf. I didn’t know who he was before, and I’ve only watched Two and a Half Men a handful of times. I don’t need him to tell me that the content of the show is good, bad, or indifferent. He’s not a role model to me one way or the other. His rant only drew my attention to him: What was he thinking would come of this? We know that friendship influence – person-to-person, sustained, because-I-care-about-you – is what builds up and sticks when you’re trying to make positive change. But some future star saw what Jones modeled for them. And they too will abuse the platform they’ve been given, looking foolish and out of touch by going on the negative.
