In 1975, Grey Gardens, a documentary film, was released. The deeply troubling film follows the lives of Edith “Big Edie” Bouvier Beale and her daughter, “Little Edie.” Former New York socialites, the women were also close relatives of Jackie Onassis. Little Edie was a model in her youth, and both women had lived the first half of their lives in luxury. Things took a sharp turn when Big Edie’s husband divorced her in 1946 (they had been separated since 1931). She got their East Hampton mansion, Grey Gardens, in the divorce settlement, and Little Edie later moved in with her. However, Edith’s ex-husband quickly cut off funds, with the result that the staff eventually left and the estate began to fall into disrepair.
By the time the documentary was filmed, the women were past middle age, living in isolation in a derelict home. They rarely left their estate. In the documentary, Little Edie is seen sashaying around the rundown property wearing makeshift couture outfits held together with safety pins. The mansion’s rooms were mostly uninhabitable due to bug and animal infestations and rubbish. The self-inflicted prison would ultimately limit the women to a single bedroom, which also served as a kitchen, bathroom, and living room. At one point in the film, Big Edie, who was in her seventies at the time, is seen boiling corn while in bed as she acts as hostess to the camera crew.
Despite their surroundings, the women were still preoccupied with their appearance, often making comments about their makeup and outfits. Little Edie wore silk scarves on her head to hide hair loss. They are seen sunbathing on a porch that is slowly falling apart, while their conversations regularly circle back to their days in high society. Vanity and materialism consumed the women. In short, their estate was but an outward depiction of their inward mental and spiritual state.
These women are an example of what the wrath of God can look like. In the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul describes the present-day wrath of God that is being poured out upon the world (Rom 1:18). It should be noted that this is not the lake of fire, but rather the current consequences that come from the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men–both unbelievers and believers. The result is a debased mindset (1:28) and slavery to sin, as happened to the two Edies. These women became enslaved to their sin, which ultimately entombed them both mentally and materially.
They serve as a warning to us, for believers today can also experience this wrath. Like the Edies, we can become enslaved to sin when we fail to walk by the Spirit. Paul speaks of this in Rom 8:1:
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
Speaking on this verse, Zane Hodges comments:
“Contrary to the widely held opinion that in 8:1 Paul is discussing the truth of justification as the removal of all condemnation; Paul’s statement has a quite different meaning. Paul is referring to the reign of sin and death that was initiated by the fall of Adam. Since Paul lives in a “body of…death,” sin reigns in his physical body.” (Hodges, Romans: Deliverance from Wrath, p 199).
In short, we can also live a condemned earthly life in the sense that–like the women of Grey Gardens–we can become enslaved to sin. Paul is not discussing the gift of eternal life, which cannot be lost. Paul is speaking as a born-again person who already has eternal life and knows he will be in the coming kingdom. He is speaking of the opportunity to live a victorious Christian life in which he can experience deliverance from the slavery of sin here and now. This can be done only by walking in the Spirit rather than in the flesh (v 1, 4). Many attempt to live the Christian life by their own power through legalism. Paul, however, looks to the resurrection power of the Spirit, who alone can deliver him from the power of sin in his life.
As believers, we can be like the Edies. We can be so enslaved to pride, vanity, or power that we self-destruct by becoming desensitized to our sin. Our minds can become darkened and conformed to the things of the world. Therefore, may we heed the teachings of Paul and strive to have our minds transformed by the power of the Spirit (Rom 12:1-2).
