Our family loves Disney movies, we always have. We see almost every single one in the theatres. We buy almost all of them when they come out on VHS, DVD, BLU-RAY, DIGITAL DOWNLOAD. When Southern Baptists infamously boycotted Disney back in the late 90s, (***shhh*** we still enjoyed their entertainment!). I mean, even looking back, I can’t think of a thing inappropriate with one of the cartoons or feature films.
But then recently there have been more and more rumors and instances of homosexuality in the daily children’s shows on Disney networks and now the live production/remake of Beauty and the Beast is reported as promoting a homosexual lifestyle with an “exclusively gay moment.” This quote comes from the movie’s director Bill Condon, whose credits include films that would not at all be considered as “family friendly.” In fact there are several horror films and others with a noted homosexual agenda. He produced a documentary titled Making the Boys which “…explores … the legacy of the first-ever gay play …and Hollywood movie to successfully reach a mainstream audience.” (quoted from IMDb.com). What is Disney’s motivation for having someone like this direct a “family friendly, children’s movie”? I’m afraid of the answer.
It is obvious that Hollywood, Politics, and the a-Christian groups want complete acceptance and affirmation of homosexuality. A 2015 Gallup article points out that over 50% of the population thinks that LGBTQ identification is greater than 20% of the population (that’s 1 in 5) whereas the most recent legitimate research says that only 3.8% of the population identifies as LGBTQ (that’s less than 1 in 10). So the agenda of these groups trying to convince America of the normalcy of homosexuality is working quite well.
So now what should a Christian do? How does a family that seeks to honor God and be firm in our Biblical Christian values go forward? Our whole family was eager to see this new live Beauty and the Beast. I took my wife to see the animated Beauty and the Beast in the IMAX in Tulsa during its re-release the night I asked for her hand in marriage. Should we “boycott” Disney again? How does a Christian family live for God and live in a world whose values are not ours?
You could pretend that nothing is wrong or land on the other extreme and boycott Disney (again). But personally, I will likely fall somewhere in the middle.
- I will choose to BE AWARE of what is going on regarding what I see in media and what my family sees. It is absolutely necessary for the Christian today to remain sharp and disciplined regarding keeping watchful of what our families are confronted with. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Only when are on guard can we protect ourselves and those around us. And be not fooled, Satan would love very much to snare each and every one of you.
- It is one of our greatest responsibilities to BE GODLY PARENTS! God has placed these young cubs, pups, children, little ones in our care to provide, protect, and grow in the “Fear of the Lord” (Proverbs 1). How it grieves me to see children whose parents couldn’t care less about what they do and what they see. The prince of this world will throw everything he can at our children to try and sway them away from the Lord. Let’s make sure that as long as they are in our care that they have a good chance of following on the righteous path. So, know when and be willing to say NO! (I’m not saying that the only right choice here is “no.” But you’ve got to be willing to say no when it is!) You may be unpopular and “The worst parent in the world” for the next half hour, but your God-given responsibility and love for them means you are willing to put them through some temporary discomfort in order to protect them long term. (Go read the first 19 verses of Proverbs 1).
- Absolutely BE A LIGHT in a dark world. As we consider and debate the concerns of this film (and others as there are sure to be more), make certain that the love and righteousness of God are both present in your conversation. It is absolutely the truth that homosexuality is against God’s design for man and therefore wrong in any way that it is expressed. That being said, there are many people that do not know this and need to be shown the truth through love! I can’t help but think of Jesus’ interaction with the woman in adultery. He only confronted her sin after he reached out to her in love and offered her the water of Life. Additionally, those that might reach a different conclusion than you regarding whether or not to see the movie are not necessarily wrong and needed to be regarded with love. This world is an extremely dark place, and when sources of light begin to pop up, those in the dark world will gravitate to the light.
Don’t See the Movie – You may decide after all is known and you have prayed about your response to not see this movie. That is fine. Again we have a challenging responsibility to protect ourselves and our families from the lies of Satan. And of all of the lies, the ones regarding a distorted sexual identity seem to be of the most dangerous. And a children’s movie is absolutely not the place for this kind of agenda. The American College of Pediatricians said as much in a recent article.
Whether you chose to let your children see this or not, don’t shy away from the teachable conversations about what is good and what is sin.
Go See the Movie – You may decide after prayer and consideration that you can safely allow your family to see this film. It is impossible to prevent sin from coming into contact with our children; we live in a sinful world. Now, we should not go looking for it, but people lash out in anger in movies, call each other names, bully, display evidences of adultery, abuse (physical and substance). I could go on and on. This may be an opportunity for a conversation with children that are ready to have them about various sin in the world (have a conversation with your six year old about bullies and being nice, and wait to your child is older, maybe a preteen, to have discussions about sexuality. Be age appropriate.).
After spending much of the day considering all of this, Shannon and I will probably see the movie first before taking our children to see it. The article that sparked all of this was centered around quotes that the director of the movie gave to a “British gay lifestyle magazine.” It is not beyond the realm of possibility that a director with an agenda is going beyond the obvious intent of the script and film in order to cater to and encourage his homosexual audience. In my research I have heard of first person accounts that after viewing a screening of the movie there were not any obvious displays of homosexuality. It may be that like many Disney movies before this (the Lion King and Frozen come to mind), someone is just trying to make a point that isn’t really there.
We will know more on March 17!
