"Titanic"- Sinking Ship; Sinking Culture

Telling on myself again.  Seems that’s what 90% of my posts are!  Unfortunately, there is so much to tell!!! 

This time, I am actually telling on many folks.  Makes me feel better.

Whatever year that the movie “Titanic” came out, I was teaching a PE class at the Christian school where I was coaching at the time.  Any of you that went to a small Christian school know what I was doing.  Yup, I was sitting on the bleachers, watching mass hysteria, pandemonium, and chaos on the basketball court.  At the beginning of class, I took roll, made the kids stretch, they ran 4 laps (WOW) and then I just let them have at it.  For the next 40 minutes, my job was to sit and make sure Timmy didn’t punch Bobby, and that the “Mean Girls” actually did SOMETHING other than sit on the bleachers and gossip.  If there wasn’t a fight, bloodshed, or broken bone, I had done my job!

Now, most days this was not the case.  We actually had organized sports/games/exercise, but not on Fridays…that was FREE PLAY!  Footballs were ricocheting off the ones playing volleyball.  Frisbees were hitting the lights and getting stuck in the rafters, and the girls were generally trying to do whatever was in their power NOT to sweat since they still had to go to 6^th and 7^th periods after this mayhem!  I could con them into 4 square, but that was about it.

Man, it was fun….and has absolutely NOTHING to do with my post.

On one of these Free Play Fridays, the church administrator came out to chit-chat with me.  He was a distinguished man in his 60s.  Deacon in the church.  Former Coach.  Well-respected by all…especially me.  I was a member of our church when we had a big promotion called “I Want 100.”  We had a big promotion to try to get 100 to church one day.  We had 222.  Fast Forward just 5 years and we were having “I Want 2,000.”  We had 2,650.  So this was no small church.  And this administrator would’ve been on the Mt. Rushmore of church hierarchy.  He would’ve made the Fundamental Baptist Who’s Who in the 80’s.

Anyway, I think I caught that rabbit and killed it.

He was a conservative, godly, spiritual man.  He had watched me grow up, and was now my boss, so we had a great relationship.  Still do.

So, he sits down and amid all the brilliant instructing I was doing at the time, he asked me if I had seen the movie “Titanic” yet.  First of all, this floored me because I didn’t know he even went to movies.  We were taught growing up it was a sin (I kid you not).  Apparently, my newly enlightened elder had been to see it and told me how great it was.  He said they were going to see it again.  I told him I would try to go see it also (now that I knew it wasn’t a sin).

I did go see it, and like millions, I was mesmerized.  The effects were groundbreaking at the time.  Had just enough “based on true events” info in it to keep it interesting, and of course the story of Jack and Rose.  I left thinking it was a great movie also.  I told some others to see it.

By now almost everyone has seen it.  I have heard many a preacher reference the movie.  I even saw a church doing a Bible study based on the movie.  It was all but promoted from the pulpit as a great movie.  Like many others, when it came out on VHS (feel free to laugh), I added it to my collection.  When it came out on DVD, I snatched it up!  About 1 year ago, my wife and I decided to knock the dust off of the DVD case and we watched it. 

Perhaps I am more sensitive now, or more likely, due to my own falling, I now recognized how morally despicable this movie was!  And it was so sneaky!

It never occurred to me on first viewing that Jack and Rose met, felt attraction/lust, and it quickly…VERY QUICKLY rushed to find her NAKED in front of him, and them having steamy sex in a CAR of all places, unmarried, and only a few days after they met.  Did I mention UNMARRIED?

There is a list of negative terms we use to describe girls like this, and if any dude plays my sweet Peach like Jack did Rose, I would harm him.  That is the most PC way I can put it.

Huh?  Wha...?  I thought this movie was awesome and back in the day, I suggested it to my parents?  My mentor in many ways had suggested it to me?  My pastor referenced it several times from the pulpit in a positive light?

I used to scoff at a former stodgy boss of mine who would hammer at the staff and students at our school about our “worldview.”  I thought he had some good points, but come on, lighten up.  However, looking back, I can see how a flawed worldview and the slow fade into moral apathy has led to many a:

Broken home. 

  Broken dream. 

    Broken marriage.

  Broken person.

And a Broken Me.

Conviction has been all over me about this, realizing that my loose play with morality has skewed me and many others around me terribly.  And if I don’t get right, I will pass on a jaded, compromised worldview to BB and Peach!

There is a reason I was made to memorize the “whatsoevers” in school.  Pure, honest, just, holy, virtuous, praiseworthy, etc.  If we aren’t constantly guarding our minds and hearts and taking every thought captive, then we are opening ourselves up for multitudes of small compromises that add up to a lifestyle devoid of ANY recognition of right or wrong, or in many cases, we know right and wrong, but can expertly rationalize our actions.

I thank Father for showing me this now.  For showing me this flaw I possess.  I have taken the “in the world, but not of it” verse waaaaaaaay out of context and made my worldview this ungodly mixture of what is good and what is evil.

And to make a horrible, unfortunate, terrible joke, “Titanic” is just the tip of the iceberg.  There are so many levels underneath. 

“Search me, O God…Show me…”