Do We Ever Get our Fill of Blood?

A month or two ago, an old friend of mine posted a question, asking for some input from the ‘big shots’ in his life. From his vantage point, I often wonder who his big shots are. I don’t know if anyone answered him or not. If my memory serves me correctly, here was his question;

“Why do we like scary movies?”

We do we? We have little tolerance for a life well lived. We prefer to watch some beautiful young lady in a bikini as she is torn apart by a shark or being hacked up by a chainsaw. THAT is entertainment.

There is a principle at work that I share with you on a consistent basis and it goes like this...

The lives we live are a reflection of who we really are.

So if we enjoy watching the suffering of other human beings, what does it say about us?

Any serious thinking human must know what I’m about to share with you, although, depending on one’s worldview, each will give it a different name. There is something dreadfully wrong in the heart of humanity. Sigmund Freud called it the ID. I believe that Steven King said that to varying degrees, we’re all crazy. One might think that he might have at least some insight as to why we like scary films.

As a culture, it seems obvious that Christ’s words apply directly to us when He said;

“..people loved the darkness more than the light...”John 3:19

We love the darkness. Don’t we? At work last week, I spoke with a teacher who was transferred from a progressive school in town, to one of those backwards rural public schools. It’s the kind of school where they still have the nerve to allow Gideons to hand out testaments. I asked him if he noticed any difference between his old school and the new school. This was his response.

“Well, at the rural school, I don’t have to confront gang members or try and check them for weapons before class.”

This is the expression of our brand of civil freedom. I’m not complaining. I’m really not. I’m not saying that we should bring prayer back into public schools, place a Bible in every desk, or even that doing these would cure our ills. What I’m saying, is that we prefer Saw to Hammy Hamster. We prefer drugs over prayer and switchblades to testaments. We glorify celebrities whose lives end in train-wreck. I’m fine with all of this. In fact, you have no idea of how fine I am with it.

We are increasingly a people who love to see the shed blood of others, but it’s completely acceptable because it comes in the form of entertainment. We’re going the way of Rome. Here is a question to ponder; Is there any act so vile, that it is offensive to portray it on screen?

I’m not a big shot. I’m just a guy who loves his wife and children. I make my living fixing other people’s problems. I have been faithful to my family, and by God’s grace, I intend to remain so as long as I shall live. I don’t live the kind of life that many people would want to see in a film.

Just in case you are wondering, I don’t care if you watch horror films or not. If you enjoy watching the suffering of other human beings, turning off the TV won’t fix what’s in your heart. If you don’t want to think on things that are pure, true, noble, honourable and worthy of praise, then please don’t. If you enjoy watching someone being beaten into a bloody stump, then by all means, feed your fever. Maybe not everything I watch is completely on the up and up either. If so, the problem isn’t on screen.

There has to be another way to be human.