Steve Massey: We pay dearly for editing God from our lives
You can’t have it both ways.
Disney Radio proves the point this week, promoting Disney’s “Ten Commandments” film while editing out the mere mention of God from its on-air sales pitch.
Disney was to broadcast a radio spot for the animated film, but the company ordered the phrase “chosen by God” to be cut out of the ad script (Fox News, Oct. 18).
The company’s initial ad was clearly clunky, suggesting that voices of actors Ben Kingsley, Christian Slater, Alfred Molina and Elliott Gould were “chosen by God.” It’s telling, though, that the final edit deleted any mention of God.
Of course, Disney has every right to do so, despite the resulting controversy. In the cartoon world, you can sell a movie about God without acknowledging him.
It’s real life that concerns me. We Christians edit God out of our lives here and there – then marvel at the consequences.
It seems we, too, want to have it both ways.
I can speak with some authority on this issue of editing God out of life, not because I’m a pastor and former editor, but because in years past I’ve lived that duplicity.
As soon as I left my parents’ home, the busyness of college life and its attractions had me convinced there was no time for God. So I edited my relationship with God out of my daily living.
Nothing drastic at first. Not all at once. Just a slow, steady edit.
I quit going to church. My Bible gathered dust. Christian friends back home soon joined the list of folks I didn’t really stay in touch with.
My beliefs didn’t change, I simply stopped living them and, sooner than I’d every imagined possible, I even stopped thinking about them.
Anybody out there relate to this yet?
Today, as a pastor and sometimes writer, I often run into people who are unknowingly in the process of editing God out of their lives. Yes, they’re Christians, but the pressure of living has them editing wherever possible.
Usually it starts like this: The kids’ basketball games, a busy work schedule, a hobby, the genuine need for physical rest … all conspire to make fellowship with likeminded believers a lower and lower priority. Pretty soon it’s just not a priority at all.
So slowly, without really intending it, hanging out with other Christians flutters to life’s cutting room floor. Private time with God – prayer, Bible study, meditation – soon follows, its importance unnourished by Christian fellowship.
Eventually, lifestyle choices reflect the culture much more than devotion to Christ. It’s a slow and subtle slide, but somehow God gets edited out of practical living.
No, beliefs don’t change – they just cease to be relevant; they no longer inform choices.
The costs of editing God out of our lives are high: It’s a reason the divorce rate among Christians equals that of non-Christians.
It’s a reason many churches function more like entertainment venues today than places of worship.
It’s a reason Christian young people have very little interest in Mom and Dad’s superficial faith.
And it’s the main reason so many Christians live without the joy, hope and assurance promised by Christ to his sincere followers.
Jesus puts it this way: “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me. …” (Matthew 15:8 – NKJV).
As you can see, this Disney thing got me thinking deeper thoughts.
No doubt the Disney people will recover just fine from their editing snafu. Hollywood long ago figured out how to acknowledge God without really meaning it.
May that never be true of us!
Christian friend, is God being edited out of your life? Are there parts of your life – public or private – where his presence is no longer welcome, so you’ve slowly cut him out?
Trust me on this one.
What may work for Disney absolutely will not work for you and me. Not ever.
We can’t have it both ways.