Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not
boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not
easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but
rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes,
always perseveres. Love never fails. (I Corinthians 13:4-8a)
By now, you’ve probably noticed. This passage that is all about love is more than half expressed in negatives. Like the Constitution, which President Obama called a “charter of negative liberties,” because it focuses attention on what the government is not to do, this description of love focuses attention on what love is not to do. Today, we get another negative but also a positive. “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”
Who would delight in evil or rejoice in it? One obvious example is “Serial killers and other psychopaths.” They’re evil. On Amazon.com, “Serial Killer” got more than 36,000 hits. The movie, Silence of the Lambs grossed $273 million. The film is considered "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant by the U.S. Library of Congress and was selected to be preserved in the National Film Registry in 2011.”[1] I couldn’t find a website that listed the revenue generated by serial killers, real or imaginary.
I decided years ago that I was not going to read about serial killers. I tend to obsess and that was not a topic about which I wanted to obsess. But… one of the TV shows I miss now that I’m not watching TV is Criminal Minds. I read novels about imaginary serial killers. I watched Silence of the Lambs. And I have made Jack the Ripper an exception to my rule about not reading about serial killers.
Pick a different evil. You’ll probably find the serving of that evil’s fandom is highly lucrative. Many would say that sexual abuse is evil. One hundred twenty-five million copies Fifty Shades of Gray have been sold. Addiction to pornography is epidemic. Whatever evil you choose, it’s likely to be glorified by a large group of fans and an healthy profit for those who market it for the real or vicarious delight of those fans.
The solution to our sick obsession with evil is the Truth. There is a movement called “Clean Eating” going around. The idea is that eating food that don’t contain things that are harmful to us will improve our lives. I have to wonder what would happen if someone started a “Clean Living” movement, in which we stop consuming anything that contains things that are harmful to us and consume only that which is good.
By now, you’ve probably noticed. This passage that is all about love is more than half expressed in negatives. Like the Constitution, which President Obama called a “charter of negative liberties,” because it focuses attention on what the government is not to do, this description of love focuses attention on what love is not to do. Today, we get another negative but also a positive. “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”
Who would delight in evil or rejoice in it? One obvious example is “Serial killers and other psychopaths.” They’re evil. On Amazon.com, “Serial Killer” got more than 36,000 hits. The movie, Silence of the Lambs grossed $273 million. The film is considered "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant by the U.S. Library of Congress and was selected to be preserved in the National Film Registry in 2011.”[1] I couldn’t find a website that listed the revenue generated by serial killers, real or imaginary.
I decided years ago that I was not going to read about serial killers. I tend to obsess and that was not a topic about which I wanted to obsess. But… one of the TV shows I miss now that I’m not watching TV is Criminal Minds. I read novels about imaginary serial killers. I watched Silence of the Lambs. And I have made Jack the Ripper an exception to my rule about not reading about serial killers.
Pick a different evil. You’ll probably find the serving of that evil’s fandom is highly lucrative. Many would say that sexual abuse is evil. One hundred twenty-five million copies Fifty Shades of Gray have been sold. Addiction to pornography is epidemic. Whatever evil you choose, it’s likely to be glorified by a large group of fans and an healthy profit for those who market it for the real or vicarious delight of those fans.
The solution to our sick obsession with evil is the Truth. There is a movement called “Clean Eating” going around. The idea is that eating food that don’t contain things that are harmful to us will improve our lives. I have to wonder what would happen if someone started a “Clean Living” movement, in which we stop consuming anything that contains things that are harmful to us and consume only that which is good.
Comments
Post a Comment