Harry Potter 7



i have a lot of friends who love the harry potter books and movies.  i have a lot of friends who avoid them like the plague because they deal with witchcraft and sorcery.  i was one of those people who avoided them for a while because of the darkness and witchcraft in them. 

and then i watched the first movie...and the second...and the third, all the way through to HP 7, which i watched yesterday with a friend.

some friends have been excited since I've now read all the books and seen all the movies.  some friends have been disappointed because i "gave in."

but this is my perspective:

i have the God-given ability and maturity to enjoy what I read or watch, and to enjoy them as entertainment...and then be able to walk away from them and not let any negative parts influence who i am or what i do.  I've read Twilight and seen the movies, but i don't believe in Vampires and Werewolves.  I've read Harry Potter and seen the movies, but i don't walk around with a twig in my hand spouting out enchantments or spells.  some people don't have that ability to separate fact from fiction, entertainment from influence, and that's fine.  if it offends you or makes you stumble, or if you believe it is a sin, by all means, skip the movies and don't read the books.  But when it comes to what movies i watch, or books i read, i live by this credo...and these two verses:

"All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any."  1 Corinthians 6:12

and

"Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations—“Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh."  Colossians 2:20-23

I'm not saying that everyone ought to go out and watch and listen to and read whatever tickles their fancies, and I'm not saying that I don't have a responsibility to myself and those around me to stay above reproach and to be a good example.  I'm also not saying that witchcraft isn't real and that there's nothing to be concerned about.  witchcraft is very real - voodoo and all that sort of stuff is out there.

What i am saying, though, is that each person has his or her own level of ability to discern and deal with these influences.  and what a person does, watches, reads, listens to...that's all between him/her and God.  and it's no one else's business.  so if you're mature enough to handle it, and you don't think it's a sin, go out and enjoy the new Harry Potter movie.  I found it highly entertaining.  but if you are in a place where the dark aspects of it will negatively affect you, or if you find it sinful, by all means abstain. 

but whatever you do...don't judge another person for an opposite choice or opinion.  Because that's where we really go wrong.