Lord of the Rings

Have you ever seen the film trilogy, the Lord of the Rings? A tale of friendship, trial, love, and sacrifice. A tale of Hobbits, Elves, Dwarves, and Men all mingled in a battle against evil. Have you read the books? Better in many ways than the movies. How about The Silmiralion, The Children of Hurin, The Hobbit, and the entire Tolkien Bestiary? I have. Then, after you’ve finished the books, have you read the Index, Appendixes, and Time-lines? I have. I can’t count how many times I’ve watched the movies, been to the websites, or listened to the soundtracks. Lots of things appear in my mind when I here the name, Lord of the Rings, but one thing always stands out. The One Ring.
Let’s focus on the Ring for a moment. To the average unlearned eye it seems a small, plain golden ring of little consequence. Now let’s imagine that you are a certain Hobbit and have found this unimportant circlet. You put it on and find it to have magical properties and that it can turn you invisible while on your finger. You imagine how fun it could be for playing pranks on people or snooping about, all harmlessly of course. So you keep it in a little box or bag somewhere around your house. Soon after you take it out again to catch a snippet of conversation here or to sneak an apple or two from Farmer Maggot there. It becomes very useful, and it gets harder and harder for you to put it back in it’s box at the end of your frolicking. So, you decide to keep it handy in your pocket. The more you carry and wear it, the more you treasure it and get defensive when anyone asks you about it. You use it more and more until, no longer are you the master of this Ring, but the Ring is the master of you! Finally you become a slave not only to the Ring, but you become a tool of it’s maker, the Dark Lord Sauron himself! You are forever a slave to his will, and it is nigh impossible to break free from his hold ever again.
Well, I hate to say it, but that is how many of us Christian become. No, not a slave to Sauron, but a captive of the real Dark Lord. It starts out as a hobby, a guy or girl friend, the Internet, and it slowly takes hold of you. For me, it was the Lord of the Rings. I wasn’t aloud to see it when it first came out, but my best friend was a fanatic of it, so I heard a lot about it and was intrigued. A few years passed, and I resurrected the question: When can I see The Lord of the Rings? My parents re-watched The Fellowship and said that I could see it, but to turn it off if it got too scary or gross. I was instantly mesmerized by the world, the story, the characters, and the plight of a certain Frodo Baggins in his quest to destroy a Ring. I laughed at Pippin and Merry, cried for Gandalf and Boromir, jumped when the Cave Troll surprised poor Frodo, and became angry at the Uruk-hai horde that the broke up the Fellowship. I loved it and begged to see Two Towers. Eventually I saw all three movies and ate them all up. I watched them a thousand times, read the books and others about them, went to the web-site, got the music, wrote the lines, you name it. I can even speak a little Elvish! But as my fascination with Middle-earth grew, my focus on God diminished. It was like the Ring. The Lord of the Rings was awesome, and started as just a cool movie trilogy. As I spent more time with it, I took time away from my family, friends and most importantly God. Pretty soon I either had a book or movie of it with me everywhere I went. I got defensive when people like my parents tried to take my focus away from LOTR. It was a hobby no more. It was a complete obsession. I almost became like Gollum, sitting in my room with one of the books, or listening to the music over and over again. Verbally, I never said it, but my actions oozed with the words: My Precious. Satan was using this weakness as a tool to turn me away from God, and I was quickly being dragged under. This happened not only with the LOTR but with other films as well. Then one day I realized (through the Holy Spirit I am sure) what an absolute waste I was becoming. I had spent months huddled into this world and away from everything else, and all that time was gone. Time can never be retrieved. I slowly came back, with my tail between my legs, to God. I started getting into His Word and praying. Eventually, and with much struggling, I felt renewed in my love of Christ.
Exodus 20:4 says–"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the waters below. (5)You shall not bow down and worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,(6) but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments." In the verse before that it says "You shall have no other gods before me." The Bible is full of verses that tell the consequences of idol worship, and an idol doesn’t have to be a golden fat gut on a pedestal. Mine was the love of something else over God. Anything put before God is an idol, be it the cute boy next door, or the time spent on cyberspace.
Don’t get me wrong, though. I’m not saying that watching movies or emailing a friend or two is wrong. You can like these things and do them...in moderation. That is the key word here. MODERATION!!!!
It’s not easy. I struggle with restraint regularly. But if you can learn to sense when enough is enough, you will lead a much happier, productive, and God pleasing life.