Want to Fix Hollywood
Yesterday, I was talking with an elder about all of the individuals in Hollywood who are now being accused of immoral behavior. He mentioned that now would be a good time for pulpits to remind members how a man should treat a woman. I agreed and added that it would be a good time to also teach families about sexual immorality.
Oh the immoral behavior of Hollywood.
Think about the following scenarios and ask yourself: Where are young men learning these simple behaviors?:
- How to open doors for young ladies.
- How to be courteous to young ladies.
- How to speak to young ladies without using vulgar terms or talking to them in a disrespectful manner.
- How to talk to young ladies parents.
- How to hold an umbrella for a young lady.
- How to give your coat up if a young lady is cold.
- How to give a compliment in the proper way.
- How to stand up and protect a young lady who is being threatened or bullied.
The reality is most of these chivalrous behaviors are never learned because they are not taught in school and they are often neglected in the home. The concept of growing young boys into strong knights has been kicked aside in our world of gender equality.
I know it is not popular today in our politically correct climate, but I am not concerned with political correctness—God made men and women differently. Peter wrote, “Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered” (1 Peter 3:7
). Our young men need to be taught how to treat a lady!
Right now thousands of Christians are horrified and angered by all of the sexual misconduct that is being reported in Hollywood. Yet, one wonders how many of those same Christians are horrified at what goes on Prom Night at their local high school? How many of those parents are outraged that their children are messing around or having premarital sex with someone they are not married to? One wonders how angered parents are at the immoral behavior that goes on beneath their very roof?
Right about now many Christians are reading this thinking, “It’s not the same thing.” I will grant you that is true that two teens in the backseat of a car is not the same as someone in power using his/her position to sexually abuse someone else. However, in the eyes of God sin is sin. Sexual immorality—whether it be at the hands of a manipulative Hollywood producer or an unmarried high school senior—is sin.
Do you want to “fix” Hollywood? You want to stop all of the sexual immorality that is being reported on the news? Then start at home. Teach your children what a healthy relationship is supposed to look like. Demonstrate a happy marriage that they can use as a blueprint. Teach them purity—and don’t compromise just because the world accepts it from teens. Don’t embrace the attitude that all teens are going to mess around—because Christians are called to be different from the world.
We can’t teach the world about God and what He has to offer if our families look just like the world. Before we can “fix” Hollywood with the saving blood of Jesus Christ we must first make sure that our own children have put away the old man. Moms and Dads, spend some time this week training up your boys to be men—real men, who know how to treat young ladies.