Don’t Bend the Knee to Media Influence
In the Bible, let’s take another look at Hard Power and how we bend the knee to the same entities who now use Soft Power instead. Nebuchadnezzar strong armed the Israelites into exile where he made them kneel to his gigantic statue under pain of death. Guards were on watch to see anyone who would not bow the knee to his image.
If you’ve been in Sunday School at any point in the past century, you’re familiar with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who didn’t bow to the statue. They faced a very real and physical power ordering them to follow its decrees.
Today, we’re simply peer-pressured into accepting every sexy wind of heresy and affirming every possible sexual orientation our sideways imaginations can conjure up. More often, though, this pressure comes via appealing sitcoms and catchy lyrics. Media influence is so strong that to frown on such messages or behavior makes you not just pious but a prude.
We’ve moved into a new era where pursuing righteousness isn’t just foreign but downright offensive. In the past, when I said I was a virgin, people may have applauded my restraint. Now, however, they may say I’m repressing my good desires for sex and am therefore doing something bad!
These strong, invisible pressures and media influence seem to have worked their magic on many Western Christians. They’re so subliminal, and following the way of Christ will always be less popular and more difficult.
Take the film Boy Erased. The thesis boils down to this: Either your sexual urges are set in stone or your religion is. If one won’t bend, the other should. I’ll let you imagine which one the movie suggests should be more malleable. (Apparently God isn’t “progressive” enough to keep up with our advanced culture.)
Finding Hope Despite the Challenges
To end with a glimmer of hope, let’s remember who Jesus is. John 14:6 states simply that He is truth. He does not simply say the occasional truism, but He is the embodiment of all that is right, straight, aligned and worth believing. He is the definition of reality.
One thing Jesus constantly tells us to watch out for is, essentially, Soft Power. When He tells us how to fight the devil, Jesus doesn’t give some mystical sort of instruction for exorcisms. He simply tells us to listen to Him because He speaks the truth. He tells us to watch out for the devil because “when he lies, he speaks his native tongue.”
Later, in Ephesians 6, Paul draws up a pretty explicit dichotomy between the Hard and Soft Powers. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood (Hard Power), but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Soft Power).”
I think the Bible spends a lot more time warning us against Soft Power because it’s harder to spot. It’s easy to point to wars, child slavery and spousal abuse as the only evil in the world. It’s harder to identify greed, wandering sexual mores and self-worship in our own hearts. That’s what makes media influence so sneaky.
As Tim Keller says, “You always know when you’re committing adultery. You’re never having sex and stop and say, ‘Wait a minute! You’re not my wife!’ It’s harder to be aware of things like greed and pride because they are invisible and insidious.”
Words of Advice About Media Influence
Beware of America’s Soft Power. Don’t blindly take in any form of entertainment with your brain turned off. Just because every Netflix show makes casual sex not only permissible but necessary doesn’t mean God has changed His mind on adultery.
Keep your brain turned on regarding media influence. It’s far too easy to slip into the appealing ebb of the cultural current. Identify the ubiquitous use of Soft Power. Watch out for factors like media influence and pressure.
May we be people who cling to truth and think with wisdom. Moreover, may we cling to Truth Himself as we grow closer to the person of Jesus Christ, although it will never be the easy or popular route. May we never lose hope that He will come again to expose every lie and make plain all that is true and real.
This article about media influence originally appeared here.
