Have you ever seen the movie True Lies? I saw it again a few months back after not having watched the movie in years. If you have seen it, you might recall one scene where Jamie Lee Curtis’ character does a rather racy dance for her husband, although she doesn’t know it’s her husband.

Yesterday, I was sitting in the rocking chair in my bedroom talking to God. I was just praying away, and, all of a sudden, this scene from True Lies flashed into my head. My first thought was, “Ewwww…you don’t belong here. Go away! I’m trying to have some time with God.”

It was in that moment that my thoughts simply froze. I began to consider what I had just been thinking. The next thought that came into my mind was if I didn’t think that scene belonged in my head while I was talking to God, then that bore the question of whether or not it belonged in my head at all.

I don’t think that True Lies is a particularly bad movie, but this experience caused me to stop and think about the things with which I am filling my mind. The truth is, it is easy to get desensitized to the things of this world.

My daughter and I recently had a conversation about the TV show Cake Boss on TLC. We would record and watch it periodically, but after an episode last week, I told her we would not be watching it anymore because there was too much foul language in it. You wouldn’t expect this from a TV show about making cakes for crying out loud, but, sadly, that is the way it is.

She asked me why they allowed that on TV, and I told her I really didn’t know. I shared with her about how when I was growing up, you didn’t hear cursing on TV at all. Normal television shows were then not allowed to use curse words, and movies that were shown that contained them were bleeped out or dubbed over.

What is this? Desensitization. A gradual acceptance of lower standards. It is insidious, actually, but it is the way of the enemy. He doesn’t hit us with big changes all at once. A movie here, a TV show there. First, we only look for a few seconds. Then, next time, maybe a minute. Then, a few minutes, and before we know it, our standards have lowered. We have become more accepting, and we are not even aware that anything has happened.

I am not pointing any fingers here. I would be the first to say I know I am guilty.

For now, I think I need to go find my rocking chair and talk with God some more. I need to ask Him what I have allowed into my life that should not be there.

Blessings,