How Many Shades?

Bandwagons.  I don’t like them – ask my husband.  So, I haven’t read any of the Twilight, Harry Potter, or Hunger Games series.  So, when a friend asked me to write a blog post about 50 Shades of Grey, I said, “sure!”.   I haven’t read Mary Kassian’s thoughts on this yet – but will get to it after I write my own thoughts.

I didn’t even know what I was looking for in the store, but I found it right away in my local Target store.  I was truly appalled at the few bits that I read while I leaned against the store counter.  I then made my way to the nearest Barnes and Noble to gather the trilogy in my hands and write this post.

I was really thinking about putting in some of those snippets but I will refrain – if I don’t want women to be reading this book, I don’t need to allow you to read it on this blog.  And, I really don’t need to read those snippets again.

Here is some of the back of the book:

“When the couple embarks on a daring passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s secrets and explores her own dark desires.”

Classification: Erotic Romance – Mature Audience

The tag line at the bottom: “Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.”  Really…

Obsess you: There should only be one obsession in you life if you are a believer: Christ.

Possess you: The Bible I read already declares us to be possessions of Someone: Christ.  He bought us with His own blood and sanctifies us.  Women: this book will not aid your sanctification process.

Stay with you Forever: That is the unfortunate part.  I can’t erase what I read in this book, I can’t go back to before I read it.  It will stay with me forever.  It is damaging.  Don’t do it.

In this book these is sex, reversed gender roles, obsession, unbiblical habits that are brought out on every page, envy, anger, lust, need I go on?

So…this one is pretty easy.  Don’t read it.  I don’t know what good could come out of it.  Since I’ve been married, what I put in my mind has changed.  Before I could watch chick flicks or read Sweet Valley High (in high school) and Christian romance novels.  But, honestly, now I can’t. I love my husband too much.  I don’t want to bring any outside thoughts into our bedroom.  I trust him too much to do that to him.  He should be the one I fanticize about – not anyone in a book or on a TV screen.  (Note: some friends might know that I loved the Mentalist – mainly because of Simon Baker – I don’t watch the show anymore for this very reason.)

How do you guard your mind and thoughts and engage the culture at the same time?  What do you do with non-Christian books that invade culture?  Well, whether its with Sci-Fi, teen romance that is all the rage – really, adult women falling in love with vampires – how do you keep your thoughts pure?

I seldom just say NO to cultural phenomenons.  I want to judge for myself.  And with some reads or movies I think you can engage them with a biblical worldview and your watching of it will not do any harm.  But, there are some that won’t do any good.

One song from the early 90s I often sing (just because its stuck in my head) is “Free your mind, and the rest will follow.”  I know that song doesn’t have really much to do with what we are talking about today – but the problem remains.  If we “free our mind” from God’s laws and mandates that are made for our good – then pretty  soon the rest will follow: our heart and then our actions.

Here is some of the best of what the Bible has to say about this:

Proverbs 4:23-27: “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.  Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you.  Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you.  Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure.  Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.”

Ladies: keep your eyes, feet, mind, and bodies pure.  50 Shades will not enable you to do that.