Ponderings of a Finale and a Foul-up
By: Pastor Brian Chilton
This week of television has presented a great surprise in a finale of a nine-year network comedy show and has also presented a major “foul-up” of a popular American Christian evangelist. In this brief article, I wish to share with you some thoughts from both of these shows. The great irony is that I must commend a non-Christian show and chastise a Christian show.
First, I would like to commend the NBC show The Office for a nine-year run which is amazing especially for a modern television series. Although The Office was not always on the up and up when it came to morality (it did promote things that go against Christian principles…which is not unusual for modern shows), the show did present some valuable life lessons. This Thursday, the series ended its’ nine-year run with an hour long show.
The series finale was, honestly, one of the best finales to any show that I have ever watched. Although my favorite all-time show is The Andy Griffith Show, the finale to the Andy Griffith Show only promoted a new series Mayberry R.F.D. and left a lot of storylines open…such as the status of Barney Fife, one of the hit characters of the show. The Office closed out all the main storylines in an amazing way. With the storyline of Dwight and Angela, the moral of true love wins out can be seen. With the storyline of Erin and her parents, the moral of forgiveness can be seen. With the amazing twist in the return of Michael Scott, morals in friendship and family can be seen. Finally, with the central storyline of Jim and Pam, the moral of fighting for one’s family and the moral of true love endures can both be seen. I think one of the greatest lessons of the finale was the importance given to life’s small things. As Pam, played by Jenna Fischer, said, “There’s a lot of beauty in ordinary things. Isn’t that kind of the point?” Although the writers and producers of The Office may not have been Christians; and yes, there were inappropriate moments and inappropriate behaviors in the finale; but, they did bring together a great finale that even Christians can appreciate despite the inappropriate moments. The Christian can, especially, take joy in even the ordinary moments and in the ordinary things. God has an amazing way of making something extraordinary out of those moments that we perceive to be ordinary. So, two thumbs up for the finale of The Office.
Second, I would like to express concern over the recent comments made by Pat Robertson on the 700 Club. Pat Robertson was asked by a woman, whose husband had cheated on her, how to get over the husband’s cheating. She had expressed that they had gone to counseling, but she had a difficult time forgiving him. Robertson replied with, “Here’s the secret, stop talking about the cheating. He cheated on you. Well, he’s a man, okay…Recognize, also, like it or not, males have a tendency to wander a little bit, and what you want to do is make a home so wonderful that he doesn’t want to wander…
- Focus on why you married him in the first place…
Does he provide food, shelter, clothing? Is he nice to the children and does he do things with them?
- Is he handsome?
Fall in love with him all over again…
- Touch his face, hold his hand, look into his eyes…
Don’t focus on what makes you mad, just the good stuff…
- Give him honor…
Keep in mind that there’s a lot of pornography out there, to which men are enticed every day” (Robertson, 700 Club, 5/16/13).
What in the world??? Let me say that I have held a lot of respect for Pat Robertson, the Christian Broadcasting Network, and the 700 Club. But, Robertson needs to come out and repent of his statements. How can you blame the woman for a man’s cheating? Yes, as the cliche’ goes, “It takes two to tango.” Yes, the woman could have been guilty of some things. But, that does not excuse the husband for CHEATING!!! No, Mr. Robertson, not every man cheats. I am a man. I am married. I don’t cheat on my wife!!! No, Mr. Robertson, being a man does not necessitate cheating. I have known some couples where it was the WOMAN who had stepped out on the husband!!! So much for that philosophy!
In the end, we need to remember the biblical commandment for husbands: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body. FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND SHALL BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH” (Ephesians 5:25–31, NASB). In a land of single-mothers and “no show” dads, I think Christian leaders need to focus, not on excusing a man’s infidelities, but on directing men to be real men, by loving their wives with the same type of unconditional love that Paul commands in the previous text. Pray for Pat Robertson that he may repent of his unbiblical stances on marriage and come back to being the Bible teacher that we all know that he can be.
Love in Christ and Take Pride in the Ordinary Moments,
Pastor Brian Chilton
