Send to KindleI read an article this morning about the real reason 50 Shades of Grey is so popular. By all rights (and I mean ALL rights) it should be soundly denounced and protested on all sides. It portrays physical and sexual abuse as if those things equal real love. It portrays them in a sensual light, as if they’re normal. So why do we see some people supporting it?
The article I read pointed out that this movie is pointing out what everyone actually wants.
(I’m not rehashing her article, so here it is for you to read if you’d like to check it out.) The Real Reason 50 Shades of Grey is So Wildly Popular
The girl, Anna, is plain, and unappealing to most, but this incredibly handsome man, Christian, is so ‘enamored’ of her that he becomes obsessed, wanting her above all others, and falling so completely in love with her that he eventually changes because of her love in his life.
Now, putting all the other things in the movie aside, that is in essence what all of us want in life. We want someone to be so truly in love with us that they’ll CHANGE for us. (Kind of selfish sounding, isn’t it?) But it’s true, nonetheless. We just want to be loved for us.
The article went on to point out that this gives us Christians the perfect opportunity. You know, she’s right…
We tend to look at things like this movie, and write them off immediately as the world (or our own flesh) wanting to like it because it appeals to our sin nature. In many ways this is true. However, we very often stop there. We cluck our tongues, shake our heads, and move slowly away along the side of the road, while someone is lying beaten, bloody, and bruised from sin on the other side.
Look, yes 50 Shades of Grey is deplorable. Yes, it portrays sin in graphic detail, glorifying it. But why does it appeal to the very people it should offend?
Yes, this IS worth figuring out, because once we know the WHY we can offer a real solution to the issue.
It is NOT that the people watching it want to indulge in SIN, it’s that they want to indulge in fantasy. They want to feel as if they can be loved no matter what.
(Just as a little aside, I see Christian romance indulging this fantasy very often…the perfectly innocent young girl, confronted with the dashing, handsome rebel who she miraculously redeems with her love and Godliness. That’s the same exact thing as 50 Shades, just without the graphic sex and bondage.)
Christians, We have that love story.
But too often we ignore the telling, we let the opportunity slip by, because we think the persons around us just want their sin. Often that’s not the case. They have something they’re looking for, some need.
Some want to forget.
Some want to stop feeling.
Some want to fill a void and just can’t figure out what should go in that spot.
Some are trying to prove themselves worthy.
So let’s figure out something – what do they want to forget? Why would they need to stop the feelings? What created that void in their life? Why do they think they’re unworthy?
Let’s stop giving ourselves a pass by saying ‘They just want their sin’…and start addressing the issues with people. Answer the questions. Because remember, we know the Only One who has ALL the answers, and He wrote us a Book. Because of that Book, any of us can give anyone the answers they need. You don’t have to have experienced everything in order to provide God’s answers.
God is our Savior, and He does not beat us up and spit us out to show His love. God loves us in all our unloveliness.
God loves YOU despite how you look, or how much you weigh or don’t weigh. He loves you even if you have buck teeth or an overbite. He loves you on a bad hair day, He loves you if your nose is crooked, or if you have so many freckles you look like a tan Dalmatian puppy. He loves you if you’re too short, or too tall, if you have muscles that look like they couldn’t lift more than a marshmallow, or if you’re a muscle-bound superhero. He loves your brown/black/red/white/blonde hair, and everything in between.
You don’t need 50 Shades when you have God.
About the Author:
Sherry grew up in various cities around northern and central California. This gave her all sorts of stories that sat and festered in her brain, waiting to be let loose. She eventually went to college in Wisconsin, where she met her equally frenetic husband, Rich. They have six (yes, count them) children, two dogs and a cat, and currently reside in a madhouse in the southern California area. As a family, they enjoy being active in their local church. Sherry spends her time writing when not caring for Granny, the kids, the dogs, the cat and any number of strays in the neighborhood.