What Coldplay's Kiss-Cam Has Revealed About Us
Could we be in more trouble than we realize?
Unless you have been hiding under a rock or vacationing on a distant planet in another solar system for the last week or so, you have heard about the Astronomer CEO and HR Director caught in an adulterous moment on a “kiss-cam” at a Coldplay concert.
Being seen on the Coldplay kiss-cam did not make the couple adulterers. The kiss-cam merely exposed what was already a reality. But sadly, the kiss-cam has revealed something that is a reality with the Christian community as well. We have lost the ability to grieve over sin.
I have seen, just as you all have seen, the plethora of social media memes intended to elicit humor out of a very non-humorous situation. Finding humor in sin is the real life ethical equivalent of putting a tap on a septic tank and selling the elixir as lemonade. Adultery is not joking matter. No sin is. Jesus died because men and women sin. I feel pretty confident to say Jesus ain’t laughing at those memes.
Why It’s Not Funny
Let’s take a broader look than just adultery specifically. Today’s average Christian (if there is such an animal) seems to tolerate a lot if sin in their entertainment choices.
The cast and makers of a popular “Christian” shows that supposedly depicts the life of Jesus have come out in unashamed support of LGBTQ+. They even proudly displayed their flag on set during filming. Thankfully they did not include it in any of the scenes they were shooting at the time.
The movie industry could not be as lucrative as it is without the dollars of people claiming to be Christian. Christians also financially support all genres of a music industry that unashamedly glorify sin both on stage and recorded. And a look at social media will reveal Christians liking and sharing posts with non-biblical worldviews, foul language, and/or, sin affirming messages.
We have lost the ability to mourn over sin and that is dangerous. The more we find humor in the sins of our culture, the more we are likely to overlook and minimize our own sin. We have lost the ability to mourn and grieve sin — both our culture’s and our own.
A Way Forward Individually
No single one of us is responsible for the whole world. But we can take responsibility for our own heart. Proverbs 4:23 challenges us to “Keep your heart with all diligence, for from it flow all the issues of life.”
1. EMPTY. Examine your heart, attitudes, and actions about sin. I dare you to pray the most dangerous prayer in the Bible: Psalm 139:23-24. “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”
When God reveals a vulnerability, take it to the cross. Know that Jesus died not only to free you from the penalty of sin , but also its power. Ask Him to cleanse your heart and mind and enable you to walk the right path.
2. STABILIZE: Take control of your environment. Be aware of the sights, sounds, and voices that influence you. Intentionally avoid things that draw you away from God. Be honest about the messages your environment is flushing down your head and heart. Stop the “doom scrolling” on social media.
3. REFILL: Replace the junk with God’s Word. In Psalm 119:11, David wrote, “I have stored up Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.” Paul encourage the Philippians believers in Philippians 4:8 to think about things that are true, honorable, just, pure, and lovely. He encouraged the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 10:5 to “take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
What Is at Stake
The world today needs to hear a voice of distinction. It needs Christians committed to a radical, Christ-centered holiness that will point the way to Him. We need to repent and ask God to help us to once again grieve over both our sin and the sin of our culture.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:13 that we are the salt of the earth. Then He asks a question and provides a haunting answer. “…but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.”
Have we lost our saltiness? Are we useless for the cause of Christ in our culture? May it not be so. Let’s each allow God to reveal what we need to do to empty our heart, stabilize it, and fill it with His word.