Thought of the Day 05.06.10

Let’s be honest. It’s rare to find a television sit-com these days which one could even consider calling Christian. But then again, that’s going to be true in general of any culture and its current manifestations. They will always be imperfect at best. The question is, can we see anything valuable in them at all to praise?

Well, the television show, “Cougar Town,” is not what you’d likely call a Christian program. There’s enough promiscuity, alcohol, family dysfunction, and vulgar humor to offend any conservative. Nevertheless, it preaches some incredibly deep things in spite of itself.

See, precisely because this little group of suburban misfits is so flawed, their bond with one another becomes a robust image of generosity, acceptance, and forgiveness. There’s just something fantastically beautiful about these messed up people loving each other so unconditionally. One can easily imagine that if a traditionalist were to show up, he would have a much better chance of being welcomed by them than any of them would have of being embraced by a group of his conservative friends. This of course is to their credit. Although their society is imperfect because of it’s immorality, you might say that the community of decent people is often imperfect precisely because it makes such decency into an entrance requirement.

Another truth revealed by this show is the consistent misery and frustration caused by people seeking to have their deepest needs met by something other than Christ. Though socializing, fun, romance, and family are all good things, they aren’t ultimate things. And watching them fumble around and suffer for making this mistake only serves to reinforce the Truth Christians have to proclaim….if only the people who need to hear that message do.