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.