“And God said, ‘Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.’ And it was so.
“God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.”
(Genesis 1:24-25 NIV)
So, are dragons good or bad?
You might respond that they are imaginary, so who cares? But what if they aren’t? What if there were (maybe even are!) dragons left on earth? What if the dragons from the Middle Ages were a type of dinosaur that somehow managed to live, largely undetected, for centuries? As a species, man is pretty invasive, but perhaps dinosaur dragons were able to find an island (or islands) on which to live undisturbed, only coming out when threatened by the knights of the Middle Ages? Could the Loch Ness monster be one of the last remaining dinosaur dragons? I don’t know; I’m purely speculating. But I know my perspective on this could be influenced by some movies I have enjoyed with my children.
We have watched the “How to Train Your Dragon” series and loved the movies. They are centered around a Viking boy, coming of age, who first befriends an injured dragon, then convinces his village not to kill dragons but to embrace and protect them, and (spoiler alert) helps to return the dragons to a place where they are no longer hunted and threatened by humans. In the meantime, he learns about friendship, forgiveness, leadership, and love. [I recommend watching these movies, if you can’t tell.]
I had enjoyed my love for these sweet movies until someone reminded me that the dragon in the Bible is evil incarnate.
Revelation says, “Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven crowns. And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and hurled them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her Child.” (Revelation 12:3-4 NASB)
Ugh. I don’t want to enjoy something that is a symbol of evil.
Of course, Revelation is a rather unique book, with much symbolism we don’t completely understand. And the enemy of our souls is also portrayed as a serpent in Genesis, a fallen angel in Isaiah and Ezekiel, a roaring lion in 1 Peter, and “the tempter” when Jesus is in the wilderness with him. So, evil incarnate can appear in a variety of forms.
So, should we quit watching these movies because one portrayal of satan is as a dragon?
This really is a question of discernment.
Every day we have to make choices and some of them are questions of great impact. “Who should I marry?” “What career should I pursue?” “What local church body should I embrace?” and many more. Obviously, some choices are life-impacting, but some can be less important. “What movie should we watch?” probably isn’t as life impacting, but it can have consequences. What we put into our minds impacts our outlook on life.
The Apostle Paul said, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9 NIV) When you think about the books you read, the movies or tv you watch, the news you ingest, the podcasts you absorb, are they things that are True, Noble, Right, Pure, Lovely, Admirable, Excellent, Praiseworthy – things that are from God? One or two “bad” things may not make much of a difference, but a steady diet of darkness, evil, perversion, and twisted things is not good for our souls – or our relationship with God.
So, how do you tell if something is “good” or “bad” for you? Simply ask God for wisdom and discernment. “And if anyone longs to be wise, ask God for wisdom and he will give it! He won’t see your lack of wisdom as an opportunity to scold you over your failures but he will overwhelm your failures with his generous grace.” (James 1:5 TPT) Ask God to help you see what is True, Noble, Right, Pure, Lovely, Admirable, Excellent, Praiseworthy – things that are from God.
Seek answers from spiritually mature and biblically-based believers. Jeremiah 3:15 (NKJV) says, “And I [God] will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.” Spirit-led leaders/shepherds will feed you with God’s knowledge and understanding. Why waste our time, money, and spirits on things that not only do not satisfy, but are actually bad for us? “Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance.” (Isaiah 55:2 NKJV) Our bodies will wear out if we eat too much sugar and other junk, just like our spirits will gum up with too much darkness and junk. So, ask God for wisdom and discernment when preparing to “ingest.”
I look at the themes of courage, love, family, and vision in these dragon movies and see things that are pleasing to God. I hear quotes that remind me of what God teaches us, like, “But with love comes loss, son. It’s part of the deal. Sometimes it hurts, but in the end, it’s all worth it. There’s no greater gift than love.” (Stoick in “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World”). I am aware that the image of a dragon can be used for awful, God-less things. But I trust God to guide me to that which is True, Noble, Right, Pure, Lovely, Admirable, Excellent, Praiseworthy – things that are from God.
Creating God,
Thank you for the amazing creatures you have created on this earth, including mankind which creates amazing art. Thank you for stories that we enjoy and stories that help us know more about you. Thank you for beauty in places that aren’t necessarily biblical, but certainly can remind us of the Beauty of you. God, as we go about this day, help us to discern what is True, Noble, Right, Pure, Lovely, Admirable, Excellent, Praiseworthy – things that are of you. Gently but firmly remind us that “junk in” is “junk out” and to stay away from the world’s (and our enemy’s) junk. Help us to seek your wise counsel – in your Word and in our shepherds – so that we know what things to ingest into our hearts, minds, and spirits. May these words of our mouths and this meditation of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.
“May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14 NIV)