Christians are funny people. Not in the comedic sense, but in the sense of being peculiar.
Like any group of people, there is a wide range of how they respond (or react) to popular culture. At one extreme is the position of being so much like the world that people cannot see any difference in our actions than those of non-Christians. The other extreme is equally bad. This is the extreme where nothing of the world is accepted (except for some modern technology, medicine, printing presses, etc.)
Since you are reading this, you are probably not in the last group, the isolationists. You might be in the messy middle or the extreme where we cannot see a difference in your life compared to a non-Christian.
So what does this have to do with Star Wars?
A lot.
When it comes to Star Wars, people fall into one of three camps:
1. Avoid watching the movies and bury your head in the sand, pretending that they don’t exist.
2. Watch the movies as pure entertainment and don’t think much about them.
3. Watch the movies with discernment and look for ways to use them to share the Gospel message.
Avoid Them
If you bury your head in the sand, or put fingers in your ears and shout “La!La!La!La!La!” when people talk to you about Star Wars or any other movie, you are not going to be part of the conversation with the world.
You might say that according to 1 Peter 2:11 we are to live “as aliens and strangers [and] to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.”
That is true. But if you are able, I urge you to live like the Apostle Paul did.
For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings. ~1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (ESV) (emphasis added).
Enjoy Just As Entertainment
There some people that just enjoy a good movie and leave it at that.
That’s fine. Really.
We are to be mindful what we put into our mind, since Proverbs 23:7a (KJV) tells us”For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he”.
Watch & Use Them To Share The Gospel
It’s probably not hard to believe, but I fall into the last camp. The camp that says we can and should use Star Wars to reach a lost and dying world.
We need to be mindful that there are parts of the Star Wars universe that are contrary to the Word of God.
But if we acknowledge these areas, we can still use the story, scenes, or quotes, to connect with people that love the movie.
I’m passionate about this. Ask my friends (both Christian and non-Christian), and they will tell you that there is hardly a conversation where I don’t use some sort of Star Wars reference.
I recently polled the karate class I was teaching “Based on what you know about me, what do I love?”
Their answers were: bacon, Star Wars, karate, God, and my family. The were spot on. The order was a bit out of whack, but since most of the class had known me less than three months, I was a bit taken back.
How did they know this about me? They listened to what I talked about, what type of graphic t-shirts I wore, etc.
That day, I move into a Bible study from one of my books in the series “Using Star Wars To Share Your Faith.”
What Will You Pick?
Jesus used stories all the time to relate to His audience. You need to decide how you are going to communicate with those in your life.
You are communicating something by what you say or don’t say.
“And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. “Joshua 24:15 (ESV)
