The Salty Peanut Gallery

Are decisions made in the heat of emotion really life-altering? I’m involved with a group of guys in another forum participating in an interesting discussion that centers around the movie “Fireproof”. The discussion has been going something like this:

“Has everyone here seen the Fireproof movie? I saw it last week and I will never look at marriage the same. The movie was amazing! I highly recommend it for married people or people who wish to be.”

“Saw it the weekend it came out. Bought the DVD a couple of weeks ago and showed it at our couple’s Bible Study on Wednesday. It was warmly received by all, and it opened up some good discussion.”

One commenter had a little bit different take on it, however. Here it is in nutshell:

“Mine is not the voice of dissent so much as it is the voice of an observation that I think ought to come into this discussion. Isn’t the Word of God the place where we go to have our lives changed? Isn’t the Holy Spirit the primary change agent? I don’t doubt that He can work through movies; fair enough. And I know that some of the movie’s plot draws upon Scripture. But I’m concerned when we take our cues for life-change first from a Hollywood production, and not from the Bible.”

That commenter was our good friend Byron Harvey. And it should be pointed out that this movie is not a Hollywood production, but rather was created by the good folks at Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia, who brought us “Facing the Giants”. Nonetheless, he raises a good point.

Now I haven’t seen “Fireproof” yet, so I can’t comment on its content. But I tend to agree with Byron’s concerns. Have we really become so shallow that something as superficial as a drama or a novel is what is required now in order to move us? Not to compare the two, but I hear some folks making similar “life-changing” comments regarding “The Shack”, a story that may offer much that “is good and even helpful” as Tim Challies writes, though, sadly “there is much bad mixed in with the good” in that it clearly misrepresents the person-hood of God. Still these stories are heartwarming. They make us feel good and we tend to respond to the emotions they stir up inside us. But can we really say that decisions made based on emotion are truly life altering? What happens when that feeling of well-being subsides? What then? Do we still maintain those commitments? History tells us that by and large we do not.

Paul tells us in Romans 12:2 that life changing transformation comes “by the renewal of your mind.” What he is referring to is a total change from inside out by the power of the Holy Spirit as it illuminates the truth of God’s Word, so that it impacts our attitudes, thoughts, feelings and actions. Now I’m NOT saying that God can’t use a film to capture someone’s attention. If God can use an “ass” (Numbers 22:28) he can certainly use anything He wants as long as it doesn’t contradict His nature to do so. In fact under the right circumstances I would even consider showing this particular film myself at a church sponsored activity (though I’m pretty sure I would NOT show it in place of a Sunday morning message). But here’s the thing. I maintain that real life-altering transformation is best attained through an ongoing infusion of God’s Word. And I’m not just talking about more Bible studies either. I’m talking about being “doers of the Word, and not hearers only” – James 1:22. I’m sure “Fireproof” is a great film, but if we’re really serious about changing our lives, then let’s commit ourselves to diving in a little deeper, shall we?