Art surrounds us. Whether it be in writing, in film, in music – you name it, we see it everywhere. And yes, that’s a great thing. There is a lot of beauty in the world. Whether we realise it or not, despite all the hardships and suffering people experience, beauty still remains. This beauty from God does not take a single form. It may not always be obvious, nor explicitly or intentionally be sharing God-given beauty, but we know all good things come from God.
In today’s day and age, accessibility has heightened drastically – we can watch, listen, read, look and share music, movies, photography and artwork made in places all around the world. Although beauty can definitely be found in these, we should be cautious of which and how much we choose to consume.
There are different types of media, some of which can lead you closer to God by reminding you of beauty, of values such as humility and forgiveness etc. Now, I’m not just talking about Hillsong and God’s Not Dead - secular media can often deliver such messages. Cinderella has a focus on forgiveness, While You Were Sleeping shows us that we must always do the right thing, regardless of what others think, to name a few, (and there’s a lot more!)
Although this may not always be mainstream media, I’m telling you, good stuff and inherently beautiful art exists. It is for this sole reason why we implemented our “music for the soul” series – because music is one way to portray a message, and if we truly listen, not just hear, we may be able to find something beautiful. A lot of what we see in the media portray meaningless messages, but there are also many songs, films and social media accounts out there with positive and uplifting messages that can nourish your soul. This type of media (which fits our personal tastes) is what we should strive to find, rather than media that is not good for the soul - this includes explicit language, themes and messages. You might be thinking, “Even though I consume it, doesn’t mean I’m going to do what’s in it.” Regardless if you “do it” or not, exposing yourself to lots of this can also be harmful. Just as they say, “You become the 5 people you spend the most time with,” the same can be said about how we spend our day. To some extent, we become what we consume. We can numb these ideas we initially viewed as wrong until we subconsciously think it’s not so bad anymore. But often times, there are things in the media which will never be appropriate such as certain language (mentioned in our last post,) and actions, and therefore, should never be okay in our eyes. We should try to steer away from these types of films, music, social media accounts etc.
However, there are also things which neither really bring us closer or farther from the love of God. Life gets hectic. Sometimes we just want to switch off and relax by watching a movie or listening to music – and this may vary from person to person. For me, it would probably be rom-com Korean dramas. Now, it may not be necessarily bad to switch off for a little while but too much binging can waste time that could and probably should be dedicated elsewhere. Moderation is key.
So, the next time you hop onto Netflix and contemplate for 30-50ish minutes what to watch,why not ask yourself how this film could affect you and your faith. After all, the ultimate goal for us is to reach Heaven – and our daily decisions play a part in that. How do you spend your day?
via.
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