“I gasp, and I'm Eve in the Garden of Eden, and he's the serpent, and I cannot resist.”
― E.L. James, Fifty Shades of Grey
I said if I even heard the words "Fifty shades of Grey" again I would puke. It was either the Holy Spirit or my own flesh who asked "Why?" This topic is every where and every time I hear it, I think, "Well, the enemy is pleased to hear this." Yes, he pulled one over on us, but I am here to condemn him, not the people in the movie, the person who wrote the book or even those who drove miles to a town where they would not be seen in the dark theater where they were actually turned on by watching this film. I am here to say, the enemy has been doing this to people in the dark for years and it's finally been brought out into the light. What are we doing about this as Christians?
I have heard Christians judge, by saying horrible things about this movie and the book and all people associated with it. I have heard Christian leaders say things like, "I choose not to see it" with some kind of religious pride. Others say things like, "Come on people, it's a given, We as believers should not watch this stuff." I have yet to hear or read of anyone saying, "Hey, these are the broken people Jesus wants in His Kingdom and it's our job to go get them." Seriously, if Jesus was walking the earth today, where would He be and what would He be saying? I was with a group of women months ago when the book was popular and we prayed every person who read it would be touched by God.
Hear is the secret that has been brought out to the light that we are still ignoring: Any man who is turned on by abusing a woman is broken. But we knew that, didn't we? Any woman who agrees to be abused or wants it, is broken. When a man wants to abuse a woman he has hatred toward the gender, probably caused in his childhood. Any woman who feels that love is about abuse, was abused at some point and associates pain with love. The hatred she feels is toward herself. I know women who enjoy being abused in the bedroom and each of them was abused as a child and hates herself. Some are in denial and some haven't got to that point of realization, but they are trying to punish themselves for what happened to them in the past.
This is an opportunity for us as believers to reach out. But what the enemy has done is talked believers into condemning and judging so the broken men and women who are drawn to this movie and this lifestyle are too ashamed to reach out. With all I have heard on social media, I would climb into a closet and wait for this to pass, too. This is not what Jesus intended. What if all the churches who claim to be believers and followers of Christ were to reach out to the broken right now? What if they had a group to join or even phone numbers people could call anonymously for help? What if there was actually a sermon on the brokenness involved in this lifestyle? Whoa, imagine a leader brave enough to call in somebody who knows more than him and have them speak to the congregation. Prayer lines, a worship night to raise funds for sexual abuse, a prayer night for all affected by this book and movie? I am pretty sure, yes, I do believe that is exactly where Jesus would show up in this day if He was walking in a human body again and even more strongly I believe He will show up in the spirit today if we are strong enough to love these people. Come on Church, most of us are the ones who need prayer on this subject, either because we are turned on by it or we judge it. Love God, love your neighbor, love yourself.
“The way you think about yourself determines your reality. You are not being hurt by the way people think about you. Many of those people are a reflection of how you think about yourself.”
― Shannon L. Alder
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