eat, pray, love. an extremely controversial movie for us christians. for those of you who don't know, in a nutshell, the movie follows the journey of a woman named liz who leaves her husband, sells her possessions, and follows a "hunch." she travels to italy, india and indonesia, having a few affairs, eating her heart out, and exploring buddhism and meditation. a christian review claimed "to be moved by [the world]—even enlightened!—is absurd; that the memoir on which it's based (and is reverent to) has become a phenomenon is downright disturbing."
To better illustrate why Christians would be upset with the movie, C.S. Lewis once said, "Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in."
isn't that what we are to strive for?
however, as a Christian, believe it or not, i took a lot away from this movie.
before you panic and delete my blog from your following and denounce me as a Christian, just hear me out.
first, a lesson in relationships. the bible clearly states "But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery." Jesus further states in Matthew (19:8) that divorce is not created out of God's desire, but out of the hardness of men's hearts.
now, i don't believe in divorce. i believe in committment. however, i also understand how important it is to be equally yoked spiritually. "But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace." 1 Corinthians 7:15 you don't really have any business as a Christian to be marrying someone who is a nonbeliever, or even someone who doesn't neccessarily have the same beliefs as you. so, on that point, being on the same page religiously and sharing a walk in faith is ultimately the most important thing in a marriage. marriage will not succeed with only two people, i believe it takes God also.
Liz says in one scene of the movie, "hello, God, it's nice to meet you." she begins a journey of finding God. she seeks God out. after all, God never releases his hold on us. but we have free will to seek him out. this quote taught me that it is so important to continually seek God out, and to bask in his presence. a book i'm currently reading, Lies Young Women Believe, states that in prayer, we are not to constantly petition God. "God, i want..." "God, i need..." "God, give me..." prayer is not supposed to be a believer barraging God with pleas for a better life, but a child going to their father and simply speaking to him. i look at it this way. how often do i speak to my mother, or michael, or my girlfriends? it's so easy to talk to people who really understand me. i talk a mile a minute about everything, we can talk for hours and hours nonstop. why don't we speak to our Heavenly Father like this? why are we incapable of "gabbing" with someone who knows us better than our best friend? just talk to God-i promise he'll listen.
(****SIDENOTE! sometimes, God's answer will be NO!!!!!!!!!)
"Americans. You work too hard, you get burned out. You come home and spend the whole weekend in your pajamas in front of the T.V." -Luca. ahem. does that burn a little? it should. because it's true. do you think your heavenly father is PROUD to watch you waste the beautiful gift of life he gave you by sitting in front of the boob tube? guess again.
now, i know as Christians we are advised to "Love not the world, neither the things that are of the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." John 2:15-16. that doesn't actually mean don't appreciate God's creation. that means don't participate in the crude jokes and lust and watch that show where you know boobies are going to be shown. that is not what you as a christian should strive for. be in AWE of God's creation!!! God is amazing and he has created something absolutely beautiful. for goodness sakes, GO to italy! it's beautiful-i would know. appreciate what God has set before you.
before i finish, here is a quote from the movie for all the women out there. "Im so tired of saying no and waking up in morning recalling everything single thing i ate the day before, counting every calorie i consumed so i know how much self loathing to take into the shower. Im going for it. I have no interest in being obese but im just through with the guilt." -Liz.
guess what? God loves you. period. no matter what you look like. take good care of what God gave you, yes. but you only have one life here. eat for goodness sake. being beautiful does not mean being anorexic.
because your muffin top is not the end of the world. so have a piece of pizza, and be thankful to the Lord for blessing you with food, and has not left you wanting.
finally, Liz was told that perhaps in her soul-searching, she is a woman in search of a word. what is your word, as a christian? is it love? or hate? when the world looks at you, as a christian, what does the world see? maybe you should strive to have a word-one with good meaning.
Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.
Matthew 7:1
Matthew 7:1
<3, k
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