50 Shades of Grey

There's a lot of media buzz about who is going to be the lead in the soon to be filmed "50 Shades of Grey."  I didn't read the book but heard enough to know it and the upcoming movie aren't worth my time and money and definitely not worth my endorsement.  

Where do you draw your line when deciding what entertainment you'll participate in?  Everyone draws a line at some point, so where is your line and why is it where it is?

One of the marks of our discipleship is the convictions we hold.  

These convictions aren't "because my pastor says so" or "our church doesn't believe in ____" or "it's the way I was brought up."  

Our convictions are rooted in our study of the Bible and the wisdom God gives us as we attempt to wed scripture with real life decisions.  

Additionally, our convictions are influenced by: 

2.  The well formed convictions of other believers whom we respect.  These are convictions that aren't legalistic.  They're sincere, faith-informed, self-imposed boundaries that aren't explicitly found in Scripture but are faithfully obeyed anyway.  These convictions aren't imposed on us but are caught by us because we hear from this person their biblical rationale and we respect the consistency and passion we see in this person.  This is the "iron sharpening iron" influence of mentors, parents, pastors, friends, etc. 

3.  The pain we experience or witness that is caused by others who don't live by Godly convictions.  We wisely decide we're not going to go anywhere near the possibility of causing pain by making those same decisions.  

4.  A third criteria for our convictions is our conscience.   Paul tells the church in Corinth that they should take into consideration their own conscience and the conscience of others whom they love when deciding how to live.  1 Corinthians 8-10

5.  A final factor in forming convictions is the reality that certain decisions we make could be morally OK but, Paul warns the Corinthians, at the same time if it will hurt someone you love...then it becomes immoral.

Although I wouldn't think that I'd have to say this, if you're a Christ follower and planning to see this movie my question is at what point would you draw your line if not here?  Everyone, even non-believers, draw a line somewhere.  Your line is whatever God is saying to you and a mark of your discipleship is that you will see in yourself a growing set of convictions about righteousness & justice.