I honestly haven’t wanted to color the world of 50 Shades with my words, but as the movie premiere approaches and I see statuses, tweets, and blogs dedicated to “why Christian women should not see or read such filth,” I have decided to paint my thoughts onto paper. As a person strong in her faith, I am saddened that so many Christians are dictating what my convictions should be on the reading and watching of “Fifty Shades of Grey.” I read it. I plan on watching the movie, and how bout I don’t feel bad about it. I refuse to let other strong-willed Christians judge and condemn me for allowing my personal relationship with God to be my compass of conviction. At some point in Christianity, we have decided that there is a certain formula to which ALL Christians must be bound in order to be “good” Christians. I am calling BULLSHIT on that.
There you go. I just broke all kinds of formulaic rules by cursing in a Christ-based blog. To that I say…WHATEVER! Just this morning in church, our preacher discussed the parable of the Pharisee and tax collector. I will admit that years ago I was the Pharisee. I believed myself better than others because I followed the rules of the church…I didn’t have sex or drink or do drugs. I was a good little girl and somehow equated that to being a perfect and worthy Christian. Boy, did I have that wrong!! I am NOT worthy, nor will I ever be worthy. I AM the tax collector. I humbly acknowledge my lack of worth and cry out for mercy, daily.
I understand the posts and statuses I see regarding 50, but I just don’t agree. I don’t agree that a walk with Christ is quantitative. That the statistics you get in your study will be the same numbers I crunch in mine because relationships aren’t numbers. A walk with Christ is a highly qualitative experience in that it is an objective experience for all followers, and it was always intended to be that way. Call me naive or even ignorant if you want, but I believe the personal aspect of a Christian walk is just that personal. The Bible tells us that we are all different. It discusses us as different body parts and each of us having different functions within the church. When we make the decision to be filled with the Holy Spirit, our spiritual gifts are awakened. Gifts that are individually different I might add.
Maybe a gift God has given me is an uncanny ability to find Him or His message in ALL things because, honestly, the STORY of Christian Grey that I read was more than sex and control or even abuse as some say. It was a story of redemption. It was about a man who was infected with a broken spirit. A man incapable of loving himself. A man who refused to give love an opportunity to find a way into his life because he believed he was unworthy. A man discovered that he could be LOVED because another individual did just that. She loved him through and passed all of his hurts, insecurities, and sins. Sound familiar?? After re-reading and watching the movie, I will have a refresher to the storyline and will provide you all with a blog, “The Fifty Shades of Redemption,” but until then let me finish my thoughts on the cookie-cutter Christianity that is being offered.
At some a point, a list of rules/requirements of what a Christian should and should not do or be has replaced the idea that God provides each believer with his or her own convictions. Scripture tells us, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” Here is the cool thing about that revelation; God gives us the power to know. He gives it to us through His Spirit once we are transformed by the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:10-16 says:
But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. For ‘Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?’ But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.
The Holy Spirit is the great communicator, and I would venture to say translator. I understand the controversy and concern produced by 50 Shades of Grey, but allow YOUR convictions to be YOURS. In Romans, Paul tells us that our convictions are God given, and we are not to condemn ourselves based on another person’s beliefs. If God convicts you of drinking, you shouldn’t drink. If He convicts you not to curse, then don’t curse. If He convicts you of reading 50 Shades, then by all means don’t read it, but please don’t condemn me for reading it or make me believe that I should be convicted also. Allow your convictions to guide your life. Allow your connection to the Spirit of God to be your guide. Allow the interpretation you receive from the Spirit to move you to believe and live in a certain way.
“For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is RECEIVED with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the words of God and prayer (1 Timothy 4:4). You may be saying, “Lana, hold up. Are you saying that 50 Shades is of God?” Yes. Yes, I am. God created E.L. James. E.L. James created 50 Shades. And with the right mindset someone reading this story might just understand more completely the redemptive and accepting quality of God’s love through the characters James created.
Yes, I can see how you may think this is a stretch, but honestly that is what I saw in this story. The sex was there (and if you really want me to be honest, that part gave me a more liberating look at sex and helped out in the bedroom, but that really is a different blog post – no worries I won’t write that one. I wasn’t liberated THAT much…lol), but when I finished the series the story was what had hold of me not the sex.
Now, my feelings are just mine on this issue. I would never introduce someone to the book who struggled with sex addiction just like I wouldn’t offer a drink to an alcoholic. I understand Paul very clearly about stumbling blocks, but I simply want others to understand that all of humanity doesn’t have the same stumbling blocks or convictions. Therefore, we shouldn’t measure people based on a measuring stick that really shouldn’t exist.
In the past, I have been guilty of what I am writing about. I measured people’s relationship with God or their level of Christianity (like that's even a thing) based on my own convictions (and even worse on the convictions others had me believe were mine). We must stop looking at others to find our path. We must rely on God’s guidance to lead us. We must let His Spirit move us, convict us, and transform us. We must share His transforming power through providing others with His LOVE through our actions. We need to help the lost find and understand HIS voice in their lives.
I truly believe if we would share our faith based on the aspect of our personal relationship with God instead of rules and rituals influenced by man and the world, more people would enter into a relationship with God. He is merciful, forgiving, loving, accepting, and transforming. We are the ones who make Him something He is not.
“And we know that in ALL things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Once you are called and are truly transformed, the world around you has a much more significant meaning. It’s a rather high-concept idea to see God in EVERYTHING, but open your heart a little wider and allow yourself to see the created world and everything in it from the original CREATOR’S eyes. You will then be able to truly SEE the world…because Christianity is not black and white!!
