Nothing New - Some Thoughts about Downton Abbey

You may be one of the millions who has watched every episode of Downton Abbey.  Or you may not have watched it at all.  You may be one who, like me, came a little late to the party.  I have only seen the first season's episodes, even though Season 3 recently aired.  Or you may be one who has never watched a single episode, has no interest at all, or one who doesn't even know what a "Downton Abbey" is!  You may be like I was, and think the title is actually Downtown Abbey!

No matter.  What is it that attracts so many to this TV show?  And what is it that bothers so many, particularly Christians, about it?

I think many people tune in to Downton Abbey for a glimpse at history.  We find ourselves enamored about this period of history, this lifestyle, that is so foreign to what we live.  And not just because it's English and we're American, although that may be some of the fascination.  We tune in to see the fashions of that era, to hear those delightful accents, and to see how the "upper crust" lived.  We love the house.  We love the landscape.  But we really are mesmerized by the lifestyle of the very wealthy, with seeing the differences in the lives of those "above stairs" and "below stairs". 

What we see as we view episode after episode is that people are really the same no matter which of the classes they belong to.  What we see in Downton Abbey is lives filled with greed, manipulation, immorality, bitterness, corruption, dishonesty, and all sorts of other less than desirable qualities.

And all this is quite bothersome to many.  These character traits, along with the fact that there is no corresponding or offsetting morality or principled behavior, make watching difficult, if not impossible, for many.  There's no "happy ending", so to speak, where the good guys win and the bad guys are dealt with.  And for many who have watched Downton Abbey, this is a problem. 

But isn't this a picture of what life is like in the "real world"?  Greed, manipulation, corruption, immorality, dishonesty, cruelty.....and the list could go on.......are all part of an unregenerate world.  All part of life without Christ.  And throughout history, from the time Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden right through to the present day, this is true.

King Solomon, that wisest of all men, told us this in the Book of Ecclesiastes.  There is nothing new under the sun.  Downton Abbey confirms that for us.  It forces us to see what a world without Christ is like.  Whether or not we choose to watch the show, that fact remains.  The world needs, as it always has, for Christ-followers to be salt and light.  It needs the love and light of Christ.  Nothing else will make a difference.

"What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun."  (Ecclesiastes 1:9 ESV)