Losing Friends and Gaining Life

Angus T. Jones

Angus T. Jones is an actor who committed an unthinkable sin in the eyes of corporate TV executives; he bit the hand that feeds him.

Jones, who plays the character Jake Harper in the popular CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men, told his fans during a recent interview with Voice of Prophecy, a ministry run by the Seventh Day Adventist Church, that the show promotes moral filth and he doesn't recommend that anyone watch it. That took courage on Jones' part because the young actor is paid $300,000 per episode. Since the show is now in its tenth season and tapes 20 episodes per season, Two and a Half Men has been extremely lucrative to Jones.

So why would he condemn the show despite the fact that it's made him a wealthy and popular young man? Because Jones had a coming out of sorts a few years ago when he admitted that he became a Christian and gave his life to Jesus Christ. Why would that be considered a "coming out"? Because anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of Hollywood and the entertainment industry knows that true born again, bible believing Christians aren't wanted or welcome in Hollywood.

Jones' public admission of his faith and his denunciation of Two and a Half Men predictably created a firestorm of blowback against the actor. Jones was accused of being brainwashed and he was called a puppet of Christian fundamentalists. Though Jones has since apologized for trashing his show, the damage has been done and it's a strong possibility that he may never work again in the entertainment industry once Two and a Half Men finally runs its course and expires.

While I admire Jones for calling Two and a Half Men for what it is; a cesspool of moral filth that glorifies hedonism, marital infidelity and fornication, I don't admire his compromise. Not only should he never have caved in and apologized for condemning the show, he should have resigned. By caving to the inevitable criticism that followed, Jones revealed that his faith isn't as strong as his words. When trouble came, he backed off which sent the wrong message to millions of young impressionable fans of the show that money and job security are more important than one's faith in Jesus Christ.

Sadly, Jones missed a golden opportunity to set an example of what a true born again Christian is all about; no compromise no matter what the cost. Had Jones backed up his faith by resigning from the show, he would've taught an important lesson that serving Jesus Christ as Lord is far more important and rewarding than anything the world has to offer. That takes true faith; the kind of faith that has motivated Christian missionaries for 2,000 years to preach the gospel all over the world despite incredible persecution. 

Hopefully, like Jones, more young Christian men and women will come forward and take a public stand against the encroaching moral depravity that is destroying America and western civilization. And hopefully, they'll refuse to cave in to the inevitable criticism and persecution that will come from moral reprobates that hate God and have no use for the redemption that His Son Jesus Christ earned for them on a Roman cross 2,000 years ago. As God spoke to the writer of Hebrews long ago: "But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." (Hebrews 10:38)