GCB

Recently, a friend introduced me to a TV show called “Good Christian Belles.” It was put out by ABC this past spring. The show is built around a prodigal coming home, yet refusing to conform to the culture around her. Amanda, the main character, was strongly disliked in high school for being the popular and incredibly cruel girl, ran off from Dallas (the “holy land”) to California (the “last stop before the Abyss”) years ago, but is now returning because her husband died in a car accident, an event which brought to light the facts that he was cheating on her and stealing billions of dollars from investors. Amanda, left with no job, no money, and no possessions in California, is forced to move back in with her mother in Dallas, which reignites much of the high school drama that she had long left behind—only this time she is the one on the outside. She, in her attempt to provide for her family and raise them in the way she thinks is proper, makes a number of decisions that do not sit well with the surrounding community. The part about the show that is supposed to be the “hook” that draws the audiences is that all the “bad guys” (and girls) are faithful, Bible-slinging churchgoers. They are also the worst set of hypocrites ever to walk the earth. They parade as perfect Christians (and judge others who can’t put on as good a show of being a Christian as they can) while their marriages are falling apart, and they are more marked by their gossip and scheming than by their love.

Although I wouldn’t necessarily recommend the show, it has caused me to think about what the unbelieving world believes about Christians. Here’s what I’ve taken away so far:

• They don’t know who we are. The show portrays the church as a group of hypocrites who go to church solely because it is a cultural norm for them, it helps them look good in their circle of friends, and it helps them make and keep business contacts, portrayals which are all too often true of Christians. The problem is that this is the only type of person the show displays as going to church. Nobody is truly repentant for their sin. Nobody truly desires to know Jesus. In fact, thinking back on it, I’m not sure that His name was mentioned once in the episodes I’ve seen so far outside of a context where it was used in a joke. If we expect the world to take the church seriously, we have to show them that those of us in the church are not perfect, but are truly repentant for our sins and do truly want to know Christ. Church cannot be a game for us. 

• They don’t know what we believe. The show primarily displays church as a social springboard and self-help tool. The big message the show teaches is not grace, but karma. In one episode, the church sign has the sermon title, “You reap what you sow” posted on it. Amanda’s son asks her what it means, and Amanda replies, “It’s Texan for karma.” The world doesn’t get grace. It is too big, too powerful, too scary. And the church often doesn’t do a good enough job of clarifying the fact that what we believe is different than karma. If we want to see the unbelieving world believe the Truth, we must be intentional about making sure they understand the gospel as it is, not karma packaged as the Christian message. 

• They don’t understand gospel transformation. All attempts at moral reform in the show are for the sake of personal happiness or for the sake of keeping up appearances in the community. Nobody in the show is led to change by a genuine love of Christ. Nobody in the show truly hates their sin. They do try to make moral changes, but it is for the sake of controlling fate, not for the sake of knowing Christ. If we want an unbelieving world to understand the gospel message, we must let the gospel lead the change in our personal lives, not karma or pride.

It's Back

On my recent trip home, I had a realization—the things that I often take for granted about living in Hong Kong are the things that everyone wants to know about. Boring stuff like what I eat, what I do for fun with friends, how I travel around town, and even the size of my apartment was the source of constant questioning during my time in the States. I realized that stuff I have long stopped viewing as new and exciting (since it has been a part of my everyday life for the past 2 years) is still just as new and exciting to the people back home as it was the day I moved away.

Another thing I heard repeatedly when I was home was questioning about why I stopped writing the blog. I guess there wasn’t one single reason I stopped, more a combination of a bunch of reasons which eventually led to me stopping. Regardless, I have realized that my blog is an important tool for the people I love and care about back home to stay connected to me and know what’s going on in my life, so it’s back. I will try to write a post every week, although I will probably miss some weeks, but hopefully this will once again be an effective way for the people who care about me to stay updated on what I’m doing and thinking on the other side of the world.

Until next week…

Eric