Edification and Fast and Furious

So, me and the fellow pastors went out and had a guys night last night and decided to go see Fast Five. Not that this is a movie review from a well informed critic, but I thought it was terrible. I mean if you're into terrible acting, fast cars, and Brazilian women wearing next to nothing, then have at it. The story line was horrible and the stunts were entirely too far fetched. Vin Diesel is still huge and The Rock is even bigger than he is. That's the great truth I gleaned from this flick. I wouldn't even use a Netflix rental on this.

Like I said, this isn't a movie critic post, but rather a question to men everywhere who claim to follow Jesus. I am far from a "only watch Christian movies and listen to Christian music" guy (I count Good Will Hunting and The Roots as some my favorites in the respective categories), but why is it that we insist on filling our minds with nonsensical crap like Fast Five? In the name of being a man? When did masculinity get defined as the movies we watch, music we listen to, or cars we drive? I digress...

When I got home, Tara asked me if I had fun. I was sort of bummed about the movie, but enjoyed hanging out for a short while with the guys. Then she asked the question that we all should have asked prior to dropping $8.75 in support of this movie. "Was it edifying?" Was it edifying? Who asks that?

Edifying, by definition, means to build up providing moral or intellectual instruction. Did the Fast and Furious Five build me up morally or intellectually? ABSOLUTELY NOT! I decided that a good use of my time and money was to be spent making myself tempted to covet (sweet car, brah!) or lust (Check out the funbags on that hosehound...he must work out - Dumb and Dumber). Where is the building in that? Did I become better at what I want to become better at? Before you get all crazy saying that we can't live out lives constantly asking that question, I ask you why not?

Why can't our lives be spent in a constant state of asking ourselves, is this edifying? The food we eat, the way we spend our time, the way we spend our money, the people with whom we choose to relate. All of these things could very well be passed through this matrix and I think that we would have a different output. I know that I have been finding more and more things in my life that aren't edifying and deciding that they just aren't worth it. And if more people asked this question, terrible movies like the Fast Five would never be made. Instead, they put half naked chicks and fast cars in a movie and most men want to go...

I want to be a real man. A man who serves others, provides, nurtures, loves, builds up, protects, prayers, loves, has integrity, practices patience, is a good husband and father, loves, is unashamed of the gospel, and is passionate about sharing the loving sacrifice of Love Incarnate. I'm sure there are more manly attributes that I strive to be (yet I have not taken hold), but if my resources and energy aren't leading me to become better in these places, then I don't need them. I just don't need anymore Fast Five activities in my life...I want to be edified.