The music grows intense as a young woman walks toward the rattling door. Why she is about to open the door when there has been reports of some crazed axe murderer on the loose I don’t know, but open it she does. There is nothing there, so she turns to go back to her show. Just as she turns around a tall, shadowed figure appears before her weilding an axe. A blood curdling scream is heard…
…I shall spare you the gore. However, I’ve noticed that this seems to appeal to a lot of people. Some of you are probably wishing I had continued, eager for the goosebumps and chills. I understand. I was in that boat in middle school. Horror movies were popular and I wanted to fit in. So, I abandoned any reservations and put on a brave face. Throughout middle school I watched Night of the Living Dead, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Final Destination, Idol Hands, Scream and many others. My mind was paranoid with thoughts of murderers lurking in that dark, death seeking me out if I had been spared an accident and other such morbid thoughts. Yet, I did not think much of it at the time. I was simply proud to put on a brave face and laugh at my friends who were hiding their eyes. I even went so far as to use my friend’s confession of a fear against her. She was afraid of being bed and having someone cover her mouth and stab her. Playing the part, I snuck my hand up the side of the bunk bed while she was on top and tapped her arm. I remember laughing so hard with the other girl who was there while my other friend screamed and nearly hyperventilated. It was a rush.
Lately, I’ve noticed a lot of ads for horror movies being released. For the longest time I was always startled by the shrieks that came from my computer, when I accidentally hovered over an advertisement for Final Desintation 3 on Yahoo music. What was worse was when I watched the music videos I could not skip the clips they integrated from the movie to advertise it further. I went on myspace today and could not avoid the ads for yet another horror movie and Yahoo music is again advertising some creepy movie. While we watch Smallville and Gilmore Girls there are several commercials for movies along the same lines. It’s everywhere! Just when I think that the cliche plots will deter people, I see the movies are in the top 10. Why do I sound so against the movies I used to confront so boldly? That would be because I am. There are real horrors that occur around us everyday. People that are dearly loved by their family members are found strangled or beaten to death, or worse… Serial killers are out there preying on victims, rapers satisfying lustful perversness, kids going to school and unleashing bullets on their classmates… The list goes on. I personally have a knack for putting myself in other people’s shoes. I cannot watch the news because my heart breaks every time. I think "What if that was my mother?" or "What if I had been in that store he robbed?" You want a horror movie? you’re living one! This world is full of depraved and sinful people. Do you really think those movies are just fiction? Perhaps they are a bit elaborate, but there are sick people out there who do not care about your well-being, or the well-being of your loved ones. I realized after being parted from the horror genre that I was not missing anything. If anything remotely gory flashes across the television screen or the music is building up to some bone-chilling moment, I just look away or turn it. I can’t do it anymore. I get no joy from watching other people decapatated or stabbed. It only made me paranoid to watch those movies. To this day I am afraid to go into a ladies’ room by myself because of one movie I saw. That’s not to say I haven’t gone alone, but I am always nervous when there is no one else around.
Satan has loved to bring up my past to scare me. He gets me to fabricate an image of him and his demons in my mind, and frighten me with morbid thoughts about knives and such. Real life is a lot more scary, but why hide away from the world in a nightmare when you can hide away from it all in safety. There are loving arms which seek to shield you from the horrors of this world. I wish I had not watched all those movies, because they only contributed to my anxious nature. However, God has used that to show me that there is nothing wrong with setting limits to what you put into your head. On Sunday, Ray and I went to Blockbuster. Rows and rows of movies…and I could not find one that really jumped out. I’d see one but remember that I had decided it sounded to racy for me, or had some questionable conclusions. I mumbled something about how I wish I could just grab a movie and watch it and suggested I stop reading the reviews and just decide for myself. However, being the sweetheart he is, Ray reminded me that it is alright to spare your head from garbage. In other words, I could grab a movie, watch it, be horrified by the content and vow to never to watch it again. Yet, I’d still have the images in my mind. I think I’ve repressed the memories of the movies I watched in middle school, but every so often the plot or an image creeps in. I’ll always have those movies stored somewhere in my head. I was not always so squeamish but now I am squeamish to the extreme. I have to really be on guard about what I watch. I wish I could persuade others that it truly is important not to feed your mind filth…this iis my opinion which I have gained from experience and brings back to God’s Holy Word. I don’t talk about my strugglees very often because it is embarassing and not everyone understands the spiritual realm, but this is one instance where I felt it was more important to lay down my pride. I don’t flit about with my beliefs. They are based on life and God. I have seen the repercussions of even allowing in a small taste of that genre. Earlier in the season of Smallville there was an episode where one of the female leads was bitten by a vampire. She, thus, became a vampire. Now, I saw the preview for the episode and informed Ray I would not be joining him to watch that one. It doesn’t mean I was not curious but I knew better. He respected that and in the end did not think too highly of the episode either. More recently there was another episode of Smallville where a girl who had been murdered came in spirit to talk to one of the other female characters. They all thought she was crazy because no one else could see the dead girl. Finally, Clark decided to pursue what his friend was saying and smashed in the wall of Lois’ apartment. There was a skeleton in there. Long story short the girl inhabits the character she had spoken to and gets even with the man who killed her. It was a very disturbing episode and I knew I shouldn’t watch it. I had stayed in the other room for the vampire one, but for this one I sat on the couch with my laptop. I looked up when I thought it was safe, but I pretty much saw the entire show. It took awhile to get the cringing feeling away from me and the images of a demonic aparition.
I have reasons for believing what I believe and the reason I listen to my conscience on things I have not experienced is because God does not let me down. He leads me down the path that is best for me, and if that means steering clear of drinking for me, that’s fine. It does not mean I am not curious about what alcohol is like but I feel convicted to stay away from it. God knows me better than I do, so I trust His leading. He shows me this through His Word and through the Holy Spirit. I am so glad that I have Him to combat all the powers of darknesss. They’re weak and powerless compared to His awesome power! So, if I really took hold of that power I really don’t have any reason to be scared. Trust me, I am a worrier and scared of stupid things but I have done things that I would never had considered because of the joy I’ve found in God! I went to New York City and walked around with the love of my life. I could’ve been terrified and refused to step inside a taxi or store, but I held tightly to his hand and even more tightly to God’s hand! Find the voice of Light that is trying to speak to you through this very dark world. When there are movies and songs painting a dark picture in your heart take heed. Ask God or think about how certain types of movies make you feel. Who wants to watch a movie over and over that makes them feel terrible? I hope this has opened up a window to my firm stance on checking www.pluggedinonline.com when possible. Only you know when you feel convicted. Conviction does not come from anyone else but God and it is not a bad thing. It is protection. You’re safe in His light! Step out from the darkness the world flaunts and shine!
"Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed." (John 3:20)
"There are those who rebel against the light,
who do not know its ways
or stay in its paths. When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up
and kills the poor and needy;
in the night he steals forth like a thief." (Job 24:13-14)
who do not know its ways
or stay in its paths. When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up
and kills the poor and needy;
in the night he steals forth like a thief." (Job 24:13-14)
LISTEN TO: ARE YOU REAL? by KJ-52
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