Do Not Be Frightened.

A cool October night proved to be the perfect setting for our screening of "The Village." Both scary and solemn, M. Night Shyamalan's spooky thriller provoked great discussion from our group.

We praised God for the artists and their fine work, especially the strong performance of Bryce Dallas Howard. We enjoyed the moving soundtrack accompanied by the phenomenal violinist Hilary Hahn, and the gorgeously muted look of the film, by master cinematographer Roger Deakins. And finally for the precise and deliberate direction by storyteller M. Night Shyamalan.

This was a unique DECODER RING, as for the first time we did not critique the film, but instead turned the spotlight on ourselves. There is little in "The Village" that could be discerned as an agenda, so the film served as a backdrop for one of the least comfortable aspects of our faith, the concept of Christian Isolationism.

We are constantly told of the evils in the world, and how we should abstain from it. But all too often the lists and rules we make completely remove ourselves and our witness from those around us. We segregate ourselves from non-believers. We are so caught up in being "morally pure" that we neglect the good fight of the faith. We teach our children to avoid evil, but not how to overcome it.

Of course, the opposite stance is hardly desirable either. To be so immersed in the world that we are consumed by it leaves us powerless. We can be easily influenced by the corruptness of the culture so that our witness isn't just hidden, it's non-existent. We are in the world but have no distinction from it.

So what are we to do? Jesus' prayer for us is "not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one" (JOHN 17:15). And that we would "be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves" (MATTHEW 10:16). We are to be IN the world, not OF the world.

These extremely uncomfortable truths are part of a biblical concept I call The Divine Balance. We are to be in the Word and in the world. To hold onto both truths at the same time. But how can we do this? Certainly not on our own! 2 TIMOTHY 1:7 says "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." We have the Holy Spirit in us. A spirit of POWER!

Following Jesus' example we can walk out our faith, with a foundation in the Word, the support of the church, and being empowered by the Holy Spirit to engage the culture, reach out to the world, and "by all possible means... save some" (1 CORINTHIANS 9:22b). Praise God that we're not in this fight alone!

Next time at THE DECODER RING, we'll plunge into... oh, I'm not gonna tell you yet. You'll just have to show up and find out :-)
See you soon! God bless.