daily java

Daily Java:

Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “Be our ruler! You and your son and your grandson will be our rulers, for you have rescued us from Midian.” But Gideon replied, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son. The Lord will rule over you! However, I do have one request—that each of you give me an earring from the plunder you collected from your fallen enemies.” (The enemies, being Ishmaelites, all wore gold earrings.) “Gladly!” they replied. They spread out a cloak, and each one threw in a gold earring he had gathered from the plunder. The weight of the gold earrings was forty-three pounds, not including the royal ornaments and pendants, the purple clothing worn by the kings of Midian, or the chains around the necks of their camels. Gideon made a sacred ephod from the gold and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping it, and it became a trap for Gideon and his family. (Judges 8:22-27)

I read not long ago about a very well known filmmaker who was a Christian and came to Hollywood to make good movies. He ended up making gross horror/slasher movies. He meant well when he came but the atmosphere in Hollywood is harsh to Christians so he turned. Now he is far from being a Christian.

The story of Gideon is a great one. he was commissioned by God to do something and asked two times for a sign. God gave it to him. He ended up with an army of only 300 to fight against a massively superior force and won. God was with him.

Then he got weird. Everybody liked him so they wanted him to be king. He said he wouldn’t because God was king, but they could give him gold if they wanted. They did and gave him 43 pounds. With it he made an ephod, or a representation of the high priest’s special ceremonial robe.

The golden statue of the robe was so beautiful that they began to worship it instead of God. And Gideon, the great man of God, went along with them.

A person comes to a place in life where success is his or hers and they say I will always serve God. But when it comes to the end of it all, they don’t. They turn from where they were – strong devoted followers of God ready to do anything he says – to people who find a great love for what is around them, for the world, for wealth, for acclaim.

This filmmaker – a good one – found that he couldn’t do anything big in nice movies. But Hollywood loves its horror movies, especially those with nudity and those that demean the name of God. And it isn’t that hard to pull someone over to that dark side. That is where the money, the acclaim, the power, the prestige – all the things that people die for – that is where it is.

No one is immune. Nobody can safely say “I will never do that.” Great people of God have fallen throughout the years. They didn’t set out to do that, but they just got caught up in the moment and before they knew it had sold their souls.

To see this, all you have to do is look at the young female singers popular today. So many of them came from a church background, learned to sing in church, had daddies that were pastors. But Hollywood, the entertainment industry, the devil himself, got hold of them and they fell hard. The picture of a former good girl who has degenerated into a slut quickly is the norm rather than the exception.

Maybe it always was. I don’t know. It is more apparent now because we allow it more and because the studios and record labels do not keep rein on their people like they used to.

We always talk about how the old movie stars didn’t rely on nudity and profanity and had good movies. But I really do not think that was because they were better. I think it was because they were more controlled. Society would not accept it of them. And stars were ruined for things that are common now.

That is one of the legacies of my generation, the loosening of control and public morality. There is nothing I can do about it, I suppose. But in my own life, I will not be controlled by that which is ungodly. I serve God and will until I die.

I want nothing to come between us.