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During the Great Depression, around 25 percent of working-age Americans were unemployed, and many others were barely employed. Even Hollywood felt the effects of this economic crisis. In 1933, box office revenues fell by 40 percent. Even so, Hollywood still churned out movie after movie, and around 60 to 80 million Americans went to the cinema every week. Although some Depression-era movies addressed serious issues, many films depicted a wealthy, glamorous world far beyond the reach of movie-goers. As historian Dixon Wector writes, “The content of the motion picture . . . was designed for escape . . . [for] tired or jaded adults seeking a never-never land of luxury and melodrama, sex and sentiment.”
For many people today, movies and television continue to offer a means of escaping the realities of everyday life. For others, alcoholic beverages offer a similar means of escape. Some of these things may not be inherently wrong; for example, it's not necessarily a sin to watch television. Today's passage ultimately concerns wisdom and how to live a pure and purposeful life in the midst of evil days (v. 16). Instead of going along with the crowd, trying to escape the evil world around us, we're to be filled with the Spirit and with gratitude. The passive voice, “be filled,” indicates that we're to allow God to do the filling, which also means that we aren't to be distracted by things, such as alcohol or entertainment, that distort our thinking. In other words, we're to be controlled by the Holy Spirit, and not by anything else.
The rest of today's passage develops this idea. Whereas being controlled by some chemical substance often leads to inappropriate behavior, being controlled by the Spirit leads to praise, worship, and thanksgiving. As Galatians 5:23 says, “Against such things there is no law.” Notice also the exhortation to praise the Lord with other believers (v. 19), indicating the importance of Christian fellowship.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Wisdom is essential for the Christian life. Clearly, some movies should be avoided and there are good reasons to abstain from drinking. But this passage isn't saying that anytime we watch television, read a romance novel, or go to the movies that we're avoiding reality. That thinking ultimately leads to legalism. Instead, this passage shows us that sober thinking and pure living are only possible through the Spirit. This passage shows that thanksgiving, together with praise, is a natural outflow of the Spirit-filled Christian life.
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