Christ matters most

https://odb.org/2025/01/24/what-matters-most-4

Colossians 2:6–12 (ESV): 6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

I think most of us would have gone past the stage in our Christian walk when we were told not to watch Hollywood movies and television or listen to secular music or songs, if ever we had such a stage in our walk of faith. There was a time when I was taught not to even read other Christian books or publications as I might get confused. As much as shielding young believers from the myriad of ideas and thoughts outside may prevent confusion, I have established from my own experience that allowing independent exploration of thoughts, even in the context of our faith, is the best approach to gaining knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The real world is not black and white. The ability to stand firm in the blurred lines of grey is thus essential for the long-term survival of our faith. How we manoeuvre amidst the different thoughts and ideas out there is the real test of our faith and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, we may indeed be confused and may lose our way. But if we seek the Lord hard enough, He will be found. The truth will prevail in the end. That’s what I believe in.

That is why Paul advises us in Colossians 2:6 to be rooted and built up in Christ and be established in our faith. We need to put effort in to learn more about Christ and our faith so that we will not be swayed by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world (spirits associated with earth, wind, fire and water as Paul’s way of referring to the evil side of the spiritual realm).

Nowadays, I look at movies and television content as mostly fictional work conjured up by creative writers and played out by talented actors. So yes, I can see certain worldly ideas perpetuated like violence and sex or that what matters most is our happiness. The latter is particularly dangerous as it champions the idea that we may change our spouse based on our happiness when the Christian principle is to be married to one for life. Obviously, Hollywood or content writers write based on their own prevailing worldview. For example, the pressure to be inclusive has led to many Netflix movies portraying same sex relationships as something normal and acceptable.

Personally, I draw the line with the horror genre as I believe that there are dark spiritual elements in play there. As much as I know werewolves and vampires are purely fictional and folklore, other aspects of the horror genre may be based on some reality of that realm. I hold on to the fact that – greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4). But we also know that as children of the light, we are not to dabble in the occultic and dark forces. The avoidance of the horror genre is my own personal conviction and is not a teaching on the fundamentals of our faith.

The message this morning is that Christ matters most, not our happiness or wellbeing. Pursue and focus on the eternal as much as we need to live in the present and in the natural. Make sure that the latter does not take precedence over the former, and we should be fine.