Desperate Housewives and The Christian's Opportunity

There has been much commotion over the new TV Show "Desperate Housewives". I had never seen the show until recently, and I believed from the title alone, the show was probably nothing more than another sleazy, Hollywood drama, bashing male infidelities. The previous episode proved that DHW is anything but a conventional, modern, Hollywood spin on marriage and values. DHW has 3 to 4 different stories running through each episode, so I would like to take a look at each story during the following weeks and evaluate its worth from a Christian perspective. As Christians we should engage our culture not hide from it. The story lines in DHW can provide Christians with a culturally relevant way to discuss the faith with those who might never want to directly discuss the truth claims of Christianity.

Bree Van De Kamp is the conservative Christian played convincingly by Marcia Cross. She is not the stereotypical right wing bigot that Hollywood enjoys portraying. Ross’s character is strong, compassionate, attractive, and devoted to the well being of her family and friends. Bree Van De Kamp has endured with an un-faithful husband who enjoys some domination with intimacy and her son has disclosed that he may be sexually conflicted, and he does not believe in God. This story line has been plucked right out of the current cultural conflict that American society is grappling with, and it takes the fight to the most intimate of all relationships, our spouse and children.

It is my opinion that Bree represents the average Christian attempting to confront the moral estrangement of the world around them. Her attempt to remain devoted to the men she loves, and the pain they bring upon her through their ethical dementia, gives the story an opportunity to communicate the idea of Christ-like love and grace. Albeit her husbands infidelities, Bree reconciles her marriage, and despite his unusual sexual request, she sacrifices her own good taste to regain intimacy with her husband. In a touching moment with her son, Bree pours her heart out to him. She tells him she would die for him, and that she longs for him to be in heaven with her. Later in the episode her son meets with the local pastor and confesses that he is not really gay, but he enjoys both men and women. He informs the pastor that he intends to fool his mother into thinking he has changed, and then he will do something so horrible that it will “rock her world”.

The mother/son conflict is more than a generational misapprehension; it is a conflict of world views. The mother fears for her son because she is aware of an absolute moral standard that all are accountable to. She loves and sacrifices because it is her duty to the absolute good of God and those who need her. The son is a relativist who “owes” nothing to anyone; he has no moral regard even for his own mother, and sex is like ice cream, one day you desire vanilla the next you might want chocolate. You can lie to and dishonor your parents because there is no divine standard to abide by or to fear. The story line is more than a cheesy night time soap opera; this is the cultural war currently being waged in churches, universities, government, and law. If Christians fail to apprehend their responsibility to engage in this battle, society is headed for dark times. We cannot hide in church pews and pray for the rapture. We must go into our world, and make disciples of all people, proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ.