Hallmark Channel is Not Our Mission Field

I’m pretty disappointed in the Hallmark Channel’s decision to go ahead with advertising that promotes gay marriage. It’s literally the only channel I watch. I like the movies, even though my family mocks me for it. I don’t care. They’re fun and lighthearted.

So I have been watching the recent roller-coaster ride of air the commercial, pull the commercial, apologize for pulling the commercial this month. And while I was hoping they’d be the one organization in this country that didn’t cave to the LGBT agenda, I wasn’t at all surprised when they did.

So what are we supposed to do about it?

The typical answer from conservative Christians is to get active: boycott, write emails, sign petitions, and promote the activism on social media. We want to protect our wholesome entertainment, darn it!  

But what if we looked at it in a radically biblical way? What if we asked ourselves what God desires?

Does God concern Himself with whether we have wholesome movies to watch? I’m going to go out on a limb here and say no. When we begin to think our Christian duty involves campaigns to make Hollywood more like Christ, we’ve veered far from the path of righteous living that God teaches us in His word.

Hallmark Channel is a secular organization. As such, they are going to do what’s best for their bottom line. In the world we live in, that unfortunately means catering to the LGBT agenda. Hallmark is not run by Christians, nor have they ever claimed to be. They just happened to produce a lot of clean movies and TV series.

But their influence is not scripture. Their influence is ratings and money. It always was.

Christians keep trying to plug a giant hole in a sinking ship by striving to make secular activities “Christian.” We do it with movies, music, politics, and education.

Is our time best spent trying to force a secular company to adhere to a set of beliefs that we follow? If so, we are promoting legalism. That’s not going to change the world or save souls. A list of Christian do’s and don’ts for an entertainment company is not the gospel that Jesus told us to spread.

Here’s a radical idea: don’t watch the movies and don’t lament them, either.

I think Ephesians 5 gives us all the counsel we need for this situation:

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. ⁴ Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. ⁵ For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. ⁶ Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. ⁷ Therefore do not become partners with them; ⁸ for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), ¹⁰ and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. ¹¹ Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. ¹² For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. ¹³ But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, ¹⁴ for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

“Awake, O sleeper,
    and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”

¹⁵ Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

 Read verse 16 again: making the best use of time, because the days are evil.

What is the best use of our time? Is it watching wholesome movies? Probably not. Is it fighting for them? Probably not.

And verse 7 says, “Do not become partners with then.” Are we trying to make Hallmark Channel our partner in Christian entertainment?

Jesus told His disciples, when sending them out into the world to preach, And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.  Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town. (Matthew 10: 14-15)

Sodom and Gomorrah indeed.

We tend to think as the world thinks, when we should think like Christ. Changing the world isn’t going to happen when we have clean movies on television. We change the world when we bring the gospel of hope and salvation to a hurting world. They won’t get that by watching family-friendly movies.

Christians, let’s make the best use of our time, because the days are truly evil.