Why I Rarely Watch Movies

I still remember the day in which I was watching a popular movie and an error which occurs in many movies suddenly transpired. One of the actors said the Lord’s name (Jesus) in anger or as though his name were a substitute for swearing.

Although I had viewed this in numerous films and didn’t like it, this moment was different than any I had previously.  Seeing the lack of reverence for the Lord’s name caused Philippians 2:9 to come to my remembrance.

“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name. Philippians 2:9”

I suddenly felt the gravity of the sin in which I had just witnessed and committed by viewing it. I turned the movie off and began to reflect on the Bible verse that had just rattled me.

In Philippians 2:1-11, the Apostle Paul in his letter to the church in Philippi, instructed the Philippians to have the same mind as Jesus Christ regarding humility. Paul highlighted how Jesus was humble even to the point of death on a cross and because of his humble obedience, God has highly exalted him and given him a name that is above any other name.

Considering this, it should be impossible for Christians to be entertained by or apathetic to hearing the Lord’s name used in the way it is flippantly utilized in numerous movies. Yet, this error is frequently ignored by many.

Prior to the moment that I have mentioned, I had already found it hard to watch most movies because as I have grown in spiritual maturity, I have developed a greater awareness and sensitivity of sin in various forms of entertainment and the detriment of consuming such content, so I didn’t watch movies too often and when I did there were many that I avoided.

I decided to make a greater commitment and to never again continue watching any movie in which the Lord’s name is irreverently used. Once I hear it, I turn the TV off or if at a movie theatre, I will leave immediately. After making this commitment, I found it impossible to watch most films, so I now rarely watch movies.

I have replaced this with more God honoring things to do in my moments of leisure and it has been tremendously enriching for me spiritually. I thank God for helping me to see my error and giving me the grace to change. I will never go back to overlooking Hollywood’s norm of dishonoring Jesus’ name.