Last night was the Golden Globe Awards. I am of all men the least qualified to opine on the worthiness of the winners. I have no list of losers who were robbed. I don’t even know who the winners and losers were. I haven’t looked. Truth be told, as I scanned the nominees for the various categories, I recognized very few of the names and have not seen the vast majority of the movies. My wife loves moves. Me? Not so much. The movie better have a great story line with lots of drama and suspense if it is going to maintain my attention past an hour and a half. I find that most movies are far too long. They could have told the same story in a much more compelling way in half the time.
But this blog is not about my taste (or lack thereof) in movies. Despite my not having seen the movies and not recognizing the names of the actors and actresses, I turned on the Golden Globes last night. The day’s football games were over, and there wasn’t much else on. So I tuned in to the Golden Globes for a bit. Long enough to see the beginning of Seth Meyers’ opening.
I could only watch for a short time. Now I know that Meyers makes his money by making people laugh. He’s a late night comedian. He was chosen as the host for the awards show because the event planners wanted him to be funny. And his opening was full of jokes. The crowd laughed. Meyers smiled. But I’m not sure what was so funny.
I don’t mean to sound stodgy. I am always up for a good laugh. But making light of sexual assault, especially when standing before a gathering of an industry that has been rocked by scandal over the last few months, is not funny. If anything has become very clear over the last several months, it is that we have a sexual assault problem in this country.
This problem must be taken seriously. It must be taken seriously in Hollywood. It must be taken seriously in Washington, DC. And it must be taken seriously in the church house. Victims need to know that they will be heard and cared for when they come forward. Perpetrators need to know that their sin will find them out, and they will be brought to justice. I am glad women are feeling empowered to come forward and tell their stories. Let’s put an end to the societal pressures that encourage victims to remain silent.
I don’t mean to beat up on Hollywood with this article. Yes, they are out of touch. Yes, they have been promoting sexual deviancy for years and are reaping what they have sown. None of that should be news to anyone. But sometimes it is important for us to remind ourselves that this isn’t okay.
But Hollywood laughs because she doesn’t know how to respond. Moral bankruptcy leads to more moral bankruptcy. The church of the Lord Jesus Christ must chart a better way. May that begin in our churches as we point to God’s design for human sexuality. We must make clear that any sexual activity outside the marriage union of one man and one woman is sin. We must provide hope and healing for victims rather than sweeping things under the rug when they bring shame to our churches. We must call abusers to repentance and hold them accountable for their actions, even as we maintain that the gospel of Jesus is for even the worst of sinners.
While that failings of the culture on this issue may cause us to shake our heads, let’s commit to removing the speck from our own eyes so we can see clearly to remove the log out of the eyes of the culture.
