Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a person sows he will also reap. Galatians 6:7
Although we have never been voracious moviegoers, my late wife and I did take in a number of shows in the decades we were married. And the ones that present the gospel message of redemption, or some biblical truth where something in God’s Word is irrefutably underscored, were always our favorites.
One such movie we saw many years ago, called Fatal Attraction, 1 did just that. A young marketing executive, played by Michael Douglas, was happily married. His wife, Anne Archer, and their child were off to visit the grandparents for the weekend. On Saturday morning, there was a special marketing confab at his office, and present at this meeting was a female consultant played by Glenn Close.
The movie skillfully led us into how Douglas and Close were formally introduced. During the meeting, these two actors occasionally exchanged glances. She was clearly flirting with him. He didn’t resist. At all. An ill-advised lunch together following the meeting sealed it for them both.
For the remainder of the weekend, these brand-new acquaintances basked in the illicit pleasure of each other’s fleshly passions. Given Hollywood’s propensity to treat this subject with gratuity, these scenes were graphically depicted. Then, in the predawn hours of Monday morning, Michael Douglas said goodbye to Glenn Close and drove home. In a few hours Anne Archer and the couple’s daughter returned from their happy weekend.
Furious trysts like this are often treated with a wink—an “oh well, boys will be boys” grin. Not this time. Glenn Close, her character deeply psychotic, began pursuing Michael Douglas. It was subtle at first, but as he tried to brush off her advances, her anger at his rejection exploded with vicious rage. What had been a weekend of red-blooded consent became the living nightmare of Douglas’s life. Again, the images of this struggle were graphic and crude, but the director portrayed this conflict with spellbinding brilliance. The audience—including me—was riveted to the screen.
As we were driving away from the movie theater that night, I said to my wife, “Whatever a person sows he will also reap” (v. 7). She agreed that this movie had been a striking depiction of that truth. What I didn’t include in my brief recitation was the sentence that immediately precedes this unmistakable verity, “Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked” (v. 7).
Ironically, this movie may have discouraged more weekend rendezvous than any sermon ever preached. The message was clear: sleep with a stranger—especially a crazy stranger (and how can you know for sure until after the weekend?)—and pay the price. What the movie missed was the reason this is true. It has nothing to do with the emotional health of either party. “Commit adultery and pay” is true because God said it’s true. Sin has consequences—every single time.
God’s laws are like that. Obey them and ultimately enjoy life as it was meant to be enjoyed. Break these laws and pay a desperate price. Sometimes, even though we know better, biblical truth feels confining, restrictive, and unfairly binding. This time biblical truth looked like a breath of fresh air—like waking up, clean and rested, having just slept next to your own precious wife.
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1 This movie carries an “R” rating. Because of this I cannot recommend that you watch it. The powerful plot I described here might be enough for you to understand its power.