Soap Operas

I hate to admit it, but I remember a time that I was hooked on a soap opera. I would anxiously wait for the next day so I could figure out what was going to happen next. Then there were days that I couldn’t see it, and low and behold, I didn’t seem to miss anything important. I realized how much time I was wasting and the fact that if I looked around, there were many soap operas running in real everyday relationships. Funny thing was, or maybe not so funny, I saw one of the soap operas after about 5 years and realized that I still hadn’t missed that much... I still knew the storyline. Why is it that we get so interested in watching someone else’s life and all their drama, but we fail to realize that we too have our own storyline going. The soap operas were good at getting you thinking there was something big going on when in reality the viewer was led inch by inch into nothingness. I was thinking about some quotes from C.S.Lewis’ “Screwtape Letters”, where Lewis looked at the Christian life from the Devil’s point of view. For example, one of the demons says, “Whatever their bodies do affects their souls. It is funny how mortals always picture us as putting things into their minds: in reality our best work is done by keeping things out....” The Devil wants us to act without thinking... desire without restraint... and convince us that the Devil made me do it instead of taking responsibility. An empty mind is not a worshiping mind. Another condemning statement that truly fits the soap opera life, “Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.” Most people don’t usually, on the spur of the moment, choose to walk away from God. It is a long gradual road that slowly turns from God and seeks the comforts of self. Much of the American culture along with many churches are so caught up in our comfort and desires that we don’t even realize how close we are to the gates of Hell. The last quote I will share from the Devil’s perspective is, “A moderated religion is as good for us as no religion at all—and more amusing.” As long as we are playing church, our souls are in danger. It is the difference between a child playing a fireman and an adult being one. True faith is not a game, but it is life itself. Father, forgive us for all the times we go through the motions, but fail to worship and serve You fully. Amen