I have Chosen

Three blog entries, three days in a row!?! Wwwhhhaaattt?!? HAHAHA Yep, that’s right, I’m back for more thoughts…hehehe

The main topic on my mind for this entry is the upcoming season 6 of “The Chosen.” I believe the first few episodes drop on Prime this weekend. I’m looking forward to seeing what they’ve done with the story this season. I have…Chosen…to continue watching the show…hehehe

I still remember when the show was first suggested to me. I had just recently moved to Florida, I believe. My renewed dedication to following Jesus had just happened less than a year before. I was talking on the phone with Mom and Dad about finding a new church or something and they mentioned I should watch this “new” show called “The Chosen.”

I didn’t actually start watching it until a few years later. But having looked into it, I had already formed the opinion that I wanted to approach the show as being entertainment and not straight Gospel representation. I somewhat knew that a TV show was going to need to embellish at least a little because the “source content” didn’t go into enough detail to actually build a show…LOL Especially the planned 7 seasons.

After I finally started to watch it, I did come across some articles online from people who were tearing it apart. I found those articles just as entertaining as the show itself. Mind you, I’m using the term “entertainment” loosely here for both the show itself and the commentary of varying viewpoints. People tend to have a lot of opposing opinions of the show and take every opportunity to “teach” and “reveal” the “truth” about “The Chosen.”

Once again, there are already opinions flying about concerning this new season. The teaser showed some angels coming to Jesus’ rescue as he is about to be arrested at the garden. I’ve seen the teaser and I think I saw 3 different representations of these angels in that very brief video. Jesus calls them off with a simple nod. It seems harmless to me. But the “experts” criticized that these angels look like various warriors from places like African and Native American cultures. To which I say…yeah, so what?

One of the “critics” sent a message calling for the firing of the creative people behind that decision. The shows creators had an equally silly response, in my opinion. They didn’t call out the person by name. But they did make it part of their social media campaigns. The only response from that that I agree with so far is that “certainty can become someone’s idol.”

It is so easy to believe that we are always right about something. Whether it be our views on the Bible, or how we respond to opposing opinion, if we stand firm in pride for what we “know” to be “true”, we are making “our truth” an idol of sorts.

I don’t really like the negative opinions of how the angels are represented. We don’t really know what actual angels look like. So, the decision to make them look like warriors from various real cultures doesn’t seem like a bad or far fetched thing to me. After all, we don’t know what Jesus actually looked like either, do we? I highly doubt he was anything like a caucasian dude from the United States…LOL

I equally don’t like how the folks from “The Chosen” have made public what I believe was a private email sent to them. And then turning that private note into a social media spectacle that has further brought out the ugly of today’s Christianity. People are praising “The Chosen” for the way they are basically bullying the person who wrote that message.

Opinions are like butts…we all have them and most of them stink…LOL All of my thoughts on this is just opinion as well. I’ll not idolize my thoughts and I’m definitely not certain of any of it. I’ve lived quite a bit of my life certain I knew the truth about all sorts of things. I’m not so certain about much of those things anymore. One thing I’m very certain of is that I’m now on a journey in search of God’s Truth and no longer looking for mine.

I have chosen to continue watching “The Chosen” regardless of these “angels” or the “bullying.” I feel both sides are wrong…LOL But that doesn’t mean I feel I’m right. I don’t know either way. I haven’t seen that first episode yet. It was just a teaser. And “The Chosen” is just a TV show. I’ll not have a well formed opinion until I’ve actually seen the full episode to understand even the context of why those warrior angels were there.

Although I see the show as entertainment, I also find it inspiring. The show itself is not Gospel. But it does draw me into the Gospel. Cherie and I have gone through the first 5 seasons with their devotionals and Bible studies. I hope to continue that with seasons 6 and 7 as well.

The show also inspires me to examine my heart and how I view the world. That has become something I do with most TV shows, movies, and books. Entertainment isn’t just an escape from reality for me. It can also help find find new perspectives on reality.

I tend to put myself in the shoes of the various characters in stories. I think about how I might respond or react if I were the one facing their circumstances. It gives me a chance to live multiple lives in a brief moment and then apply my thoughts and imaginary decisions to real-world circumstances that I actually and personally face.

The angel on my right shoulder is a blob named Bob. The demon on my left shoulder is a raven named Rachel. Neither represent actual things and neither are actually there. I’m making them up just for this blog post. But if someone chooses to email me about my opinions, I’ll definitely not turn their private message into a public spectacle just to advertise my Bible-based TV show…LOL Bob “told” me to keep my mouth shut while Rachel “told” me to write this blog post…LOL j/k

By the way, I had a dream about all of this the other day. That’s just how much this issue has impacted my spirit. It breaks my heart to see opinions viewed as truth and then infighting ensue amongst God’s children. I’d love to ignore it all. Yet, that’s not really who I am. I can empathize with both sides. I’ve been on both sides at various times in my life…LOL Boy did I think I was right so many times. Boy was I wrong so many times…LOL

“The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” That quote from one of my favorite movies, “The Usual Suspects”, has always struck me as profoundly true. But I have since started to believe that his greatest trick is convincing God’s people, “you are right…they are wrong…”

I have chosen to believe that I simply do not know. That’s why I am in search of what God is trying to tell me in all of this…in my life…in the lives of others…in “The Chosen”…and on social media. Who’s to say what God’s warrior angels look like? Who’s to say what Jesus and the disciples looked like? Who’s to say that the response of the folks at “The Chosen” was right or wrong? Certainly not me…certainly not them… This court of public opinion is adjourned…LOL Or is it?!? HAHAHA

On another note, my neighbor asked for help with changing the air filter in her A/C unit today. She had been struggling with it this month. Her wrist has been giving her some trouble with the weather changes. I can relate, I have the same problem with the same wrist…LOL I also have trouble with the air filters in my own unit. So, I had trouble with hers today as well. I’m so glad she saw me struggling with it. It made her feel so much better about the trouble she was having that caused her to reach out to me.

It was a good reminder of the importance of Vitamin G. I rarely do posts like that anymore. But I keep being reminded that I have something important to share in today’s social media world. There are people out there who need to see that they aren’t the only ones struggling. They need to see that they aren’t alone. I certainly feel better when I realize that I’m not the only one who accidentally knocks a glass to the floor and shatters it…hehehe

Speaking of which, I was having trouble with email today. Then I saw some posts about Outlook being down today…LOL One of the funniest ones was a meme of “Ken” from the “Barbie Movie” saying, “My job is email”…LOL Having seen the movie, I think that meme sticks the landing…LOL It was good to know I wasn’t the only one having trouble today…hehehe

Also today at Zen, I was asked how things have been going. I gave an honest answer that some days feel like I simply survive. While other days seem to be good. They then told me about how their mother had recently experienced anxiety for the very first time. I’m glad that by sharing my own personal struggles it opened up an opportunity for them to talk about what their mother is going through. I’ve met that mother and know her to be a very strong person.

Because of my own experiences, I can easily empathize with what she is going through right now. Especially the part where she had never understood how anyone goes through anxiety and why people can’t simply “get over it.” Now that she is finally having anxiety herself, she feels bad that she ever doubted anyone with anxiety. It breaks my heart that she is going through this double whammy and it draws me to pray for her.

My final thought for today’s entry is this: When I open my Bible now, I also open my heart and mind to hear and to listen to what God has to say. Kicking out my opinionated ego makes room for God’s Truth in my mind and heart.