‘God is the One, True North’: Famed Singer’s Must-Read Message in the Age of Porn, Sex and Moral Ambiguity
Joel Smallbone, a member of Grammy-winning Christian music group For King & Country and star of the movie, “Priceless,” believes people need to take a deeper look at how they handle technology in an age where porn is more accessible than ever.
“I hate to bring it back to a cell phone, but for the first time in the history of the world, any multimedia, any news, any movie, any music, any image you can get (on a phone),” Smallbone told Faithwire during an interview at the National Religious Broadcasters convention last month. “You can look at anything; it’s right there.”
And in light of that unprecedented access, the singer urged people to think a bit more introspectively about how to handle these technologies in the modern era.
“What are we doing to wield this, because, yes, we’re sexual creatures, and yes, we have a proclivity … we want to see it, we want to feel and sense it,” Smallbone continued. “I think in a modern context when you’re being fed so many ideologies … I’ve had to step back and … take stock of the situation (to ask) ‘How am I interacting with this? How am I being responsible with it?”
The singer encouraged people to be vulnerable with both God and one another, and implored men and women alike to find their identities in the Almighty rather than in other human beings.
“There are many voices … which one are you believing?” Smallbone rhetorically asked. “Am I defined by what my dad thinks or my mom or my wife or culture? I think we’re all grappling with this question, ‘Who am I listening to?'”
It’s these themes, among others, that Smallbone and his brother, fellow For King & Country band member Luke Smallbone, have tackled through their “Priceless” movement as well as a novel and feature film by the same name.
Their goal: inspire men and woman, alike, to put Jesus at the center of their lives.
More specifically, the effort’s aim is to encourage young women not to let men disrespect them and, in turn, to teach young men to have integrity and to be chivalrous, as Deseret News reported.
“I genuinely believe that God is the one true north, the one true anchor — and that you’re fearfully, wonderfully made, that you’re made in the image of God,” Smallbone told Faithwire. “That out of 7 and half billion people, there is no one else like you and that you are extravagently loved no matter if your mom or your dad or your boyfriend or your husband or your wife says you’re not … not just by someone, but by your designer.”
Listen to Joel’s brother Luke discuss the “Priceless” movement on “The Church Boys” podcast at the 1:04-mark below:
Joel and Luke Smallbone and their team recently released the DVD version of “Priceless,” a feature film that focuses on a man who loses custody of his daughter and is unable to hold employment after the death of his wife. The main character — played by Joel Smallbone — faces an ethical conundrum after agreeing to drive a truck across the country and subsequently discovering that human beings were being trafficked.
Joel Smallbone is hopeful that the movie will make a profound impact.
“It’s so exciting. … I hope like any good piece of art that people are entertained and inspired,” Smallbone said, going on to share his more specific hopes for the movie’s impact. “First of all, let’s take an look inward. Who am I as a man? Am I sort of predicating the issue by looking at pornography or objectifying women … or am I part of the solution?”
He also said he wants to inspire women as well to explore where they are finding their “definition.”
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Other Must-Read Stories:
– ‘God Had a Miracle’: Michael Bublé’s Wife Breaks Silence on Son’s Cancer Battle
– The Key Detail in Jesus’ Resurrection Story That Should Convince Even the Biggest Skeptics
About Billy Hallowell: Billy Hallowell has been working in journalism and media for more than a decade. His writings have appeared in Deseret News, TheBlaze, Human Events, Mediaite and on FoxNews.com, among other outlets. Hallowell has a B.A. in journalism and broadcasting from the College of Mount Saint Vincent in Riverdale, New York and an M.S. in social research from Hunter College in Manhattan, New York.
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