Stirred, Not Shaken

Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”  But they insisted, “He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.” (Luke 23:3–5, NIV 1984).

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. (Psalm 62:1–2).

My Musings – My brother sent me a link to a short article about Sean Connery turning 90.  To many (mostly people of my generation), he was the definitive James Bond, who set the standard for all the actors who subsequently had the role.  In the article, the author wrote:  “Here’s a question I’ve never typed before: What can James Bond’s popularity teach us about promoting biblical morality?”  A suave and heroic protagonist thwarting  evil, whose morals were otherwise questionable.  The writer’s point was that this combination of a hero with moral flaws was symptomatic of a cultural shift taking place that contributed to the perceived normalization of behaviors that previously we did not want to see in the heroes we admired.  You can read the article at: https://www.denisonforum.org

Sean Connery popularized the phrase “shaken, not stirred” when requesting his favorite cocktail.  As I think about this phrase, in the context of the author’s question of what we can learn from James bond in the area of spirituality, it occurred to me that the phrase is backward.  As Christians, in a relationship with Christ, His life and teaching should stir us up to emulate the life He lived and wants us to live.  With Him as our rock and salvation, we have no need to allow the circumstances of life, the downward spiral of morality to shake our foundation of faith.  If we are first stirred, we need not worry about being shaken.  With that, I think I’ve exhausted the spiritual lessons we can learn form James Bond.

My Advice – Be stirred, not shaken.

Author: thebrewisamusing

I was raised in a Christian family and my earliest childhood memories include regular Sunday school and Church attendance as a family. I was taught that our Judeo-Christian values were not just a part of our Sunday routine they should be part of our character and influence all aspects of our lives. I was also taught that as important as these values were they could not save us. We must also be “born again” by accepting Christ. View all posts by thebrewisamusing