As we enter the summer months we are reminded once again of the demise of our society through the deception of Hollywood through a new HBO series called “Euphoria.” This show goes way beyond all boundaries and is marketed heavily to pre-teens and teens (I hope and pray it gets cancelled and never makes it to the airwaves).
The series follows a group of high school students as they navigate love and friendships in a world of drugs, sex, trauma, and social media. It deceptively tries to display these lifestyles as normative. The content is so disturbing that one of the actors who shot scenes in the pilot episode quit the series.
Parents Television Council President Tim Winter warned in a press release that “HBO, with its new high school centered show ‘Euphoria,’ appears to be overtly, intentionally, marketing extremely graphic adult content – sex, violence, profanity and drug use – to teens and preteens, taking the most extreme conduct that a teenager can experience and normalizing it.”
This is the reality of the deceptive entertainment of our times. Make no mistake, there is an agenda, and it is indeed malevolent. You see, the content that our children (and parents) consume impacts their views and their behaviors. Their conduct, values and beliefs are heavily influenced by what they experience in entertainment.
Enter the Church. This is the whole reason for the Church. Jesus established the Church to be our rock and refuge and to expose the evil of our times and to show us rather the true, real and beautiful way of life in Christ. That’s why Jesus said to Peter, “on this Rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18). Surely, this HBO series is a glimpse of those gates.
Beloved, let us know that true Euphoria (happiness, joy) comes first comes when we recognize our need for Christ. It comes from knowing and believing that true life purpose and fulfillment is through Him. Euphoria comes from experiencing the Holy Spirit descending upon us every Sunday in Liturgy (and our children being involved in Sunday School, youth camp, VCS, and being around like-minded friends). It comes from worshiping together, receiving Communion together and being in an atmosphere of faith with friends who love, comfort and support one another. True euphoria comes from reading the Bible and regular prayer.
That’s our Rock, and that’s true Euphoria! And that’s how we will contend with the false and empty delusion of “entertainment” the world offers.
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