What You Can Learn From a Sentimental Heart

Those of you familiar with the “StrengthsFinder” test know what I mean when I say that I am a “maximizer.” A big part of that means I value excellence, and when I see it, whether in myself or others, I want to make the most of it; I want to promote it. Excellence is not a matter of taste or style, it is an inherent quality. We may not always recognize it (in the arts) except at the point where it touches our preferred tastes or styles, but it is there nevertheless. And it is something worthy of pursuit.

Paul the apostle taught us that “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” (Philippians 4:8).

Consider, for instance, the music of Zooey Deschanel. That’s right, I said music, not films, of the wonderfully talented actress. For those of you wondering, I’m talking about “She & Him: Volume One,” a collections of songs written by Zooey and performed by her and M. Ward on the Merge Records label. I had the opportunity to hear them perform live at the Vista Theatre in Los Angeles last April. Their concert schedule across the nation is quickly filling up as reviewers are raving and more and more people are discovering what a precious gem this simple and charming little album is.

My comments here are not intended to be an album review, per se. You can Google the album title and find numerous typical reviews on the music, vocals, arrangements, styles, etc. What I find interesting though is how God often chooses to reveal something about himself, ourselves, and our world, to us in oftentimes the most unsuspecting of places. In the Hollywood Club we always talk about “finding God in the movies.” Yes, he can be found there if our spiritual antenna are up and the quality of the film/story permits it. Here, we have a case of God revealing himself in the sentimental heart of a young artist’s music.

Immediately I hear the objection of those who would say that God could not possibly be found here because Zooey doesn’t sing explicitly about Jesus, exhort the church, or quote Bible verses to us. It’s the same argument I hear about certain movies whose message isn’t explicitly Christian. These are the arguments of those typically disengaged from the culture God has placed them in. They’re not only not of the world, they’re not even in the world sufficiently to engage their culture and to have an actual salt-and-light dialogue with the people around them.

But objections aside, let’s just consider for a moment one of Zooey’s songs entitled, “This Is Not a Test” (to hear the song, visit She & Him’s MySpace page). Though it’s probably not even my favorite song on the album from a musical standpoint, I find it to be packed full of messages we could take to heart. In this one song alone, for example, we can find the following life messages:

§ Worldly success isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Success isn’t determined by whether you’ve made it to the “summit” (as defined by the world, or even perhaps by your own friends) or whether you’re still in the “valley.” Living a life of character along the way is what really matters.
§ An undeniable truth of life: those who have given up on their dreams will try to get you to give up on yours. They want you to be “forgotten” (i.e., remain insignificant) just as they have been.
§ Don’t dwell on the past. Remember the beautiful things, but don’t let anything good or bad hold you back from achieving all that God has made you to be and become.
§ A performance-driven life can keep grace from operating with its intended effect. It’s impossible to do better than your best, and perfection is an unattainable goal. Excellence should be the goal in everything we do (“as unto the Lord”), not perfection. God loves you for who you are, not for what you can do for him (or fail to do).
§ Though life contains many tests along the way which reveal our character, life itself is not a test – it’s not a practice run that you can do over if you fail the first time. It’s real life – make the most of it! Don’t settle for being just a number in the crowd. Life doesn’t happen to you – you happen to life!

It’s interesting that God chooses the simple things of the world to confound the wise (see 1 Corinthians 1). Though he is certainly all-wise and omniscient, he doesn’t speak to us in complicated ways that we need a Ph.D. to figure out what he’s saying to us. He wants to communicate with us, and he desires a relationship with us. So he can take the simple, nostalgic songs of a film princess and speak to believers and nonbelievers alike through them.

So I challenge you, if you aren’t already doing it, to begin listening to the messages in your music and movies and books more carefully. Are your spiritual antenna up? Is there a truth of life that God is speaking to you about, if only you could hear him? And when you find those precious God-encounter nuggets in your entertainment choices, hold on fast to them, and let your mind dwell on such things.

Get Real

I often hear people complain about a movie not being “realistic” enough, or being too “farfetched” or “unbelievable.” As if a movie must, at least on its surface, portray life as it really is. Heaven forbid we should stray too far from reality – let’s bring it back down to earth as quickly as possible and keep it dark and serious.

You would certainly have to come to that conclusion if you were to base your judgments on what the motion picture Academy thinks makes for a good movie. Just looking back at the list of nominees for Best Picture over the last 20 years (100 nominees), you would be hard-pressed to find even five nominees in the comedy genre, and a whopping three musicals: Beauty and the Beast (1991), Moulin Rouge (2001), and Chicago (2002). There is no question that there is a definite bias toward the dramatic and serious, if not actually dark and depressing – I need only cite the last four Best Picture winners as examples: No Country for Old Men (2007), The Departed (2006), Crash (2005), and Million Dollar Baby (2004) – no “feel good” movies to worry about here!

I contend that it doesn’t necessarily take a dark or depressing movie to deliver a serious message. In fact, I would contend that to deliver such a message while still entertaining the viewer may in fact require greater skill as a writer or filmmaker, not less.

Such is the case with Enchanted. It has quickly become one of my favorite all-time movies, joining my list which includes among others, Mary Poppins (1964), which was nominated for 13 Academy Awards and won five. That was back in the day when such achievement was recognized and before Hollywood took an obvious turn to the dark side.

Enchanted as a whole pays tribute to several of the great Disney classics, including Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast. The casual viewer may even miss the numerous visual and dialogue references to these movies which are more obvious to veteran Disney afficionados.

With an absolutely brilliant performance by Amy Adams, Princess Giselle is forced to leave her fairy tale world and enter the real world. She quickly discovers that the real world has long since forgotten her idealistic views of love and marriage. After encountering a couple in the midst of a divorce negotiation, where one day they’re together and the next day they’re separated forever, she exclaims: “What sort of an awful place is this?” The awful place happens to be our modern-day, sin-cursed world of selfish human beings. It is the world described by the apostle Paul in the last days as full of people who are “lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving…” (2 Timothy 3). His list goes on, but you get the idea. It is into this world that Giselle in her innocence finds herself.

If the story were to end there, we could add it to the list of depressing movies I mentioned above (and perhaps Enchanted would have garnered a Best Picture nomination after all). Fortunately for us, though, there is still a glimmer of hope to be found in an otherwise dark world. Giselle at one point angrily and rightfully chastises Robert for his negative outlook on both her future and his own. She eventually gets him to realize that it doesn’t have to be that way for everyone – that true love can exist and does endure for those who simply decide to make it so.

So cynics beware! That tug on your heartstrings that you feel when you watch Enchanted is a reminder that there does exist a real, perfect world that our hearts long for and to which those of us whose hope is secure in Christ shall return at the end of our days. You see, there is a real prince who has slain the dragon, and will one day come riding on his white horse to take us back to his castle. There is a real love story with a real happy ending, and we are living in it right now! Yes, today we face challenges, cynicism, and brokenness in the world we live in, but that’s where faith comes in. Our faith is in the God who has promised us a real happily ever after. We agree with Paul that “our present sufferings are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). We anxiously look forward to the day when “the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:3-4). That is the fairy tale ending that awaits us; except in this case, it’s no fairy tale – it’s real.

But until that day, Enchanted reminds us we can still experience true love when we commit unequivocally and sacrificially to one another, despite the challenges that life may bring. And in so doing we can show the world that there really is a better way than what our fallen, cynical world says we have to settle for.

Let's Keep Our Eye on the Ball

While watching the 80th Annual Academy Awards presentation, I was once again reminded of the importance of praying for Hollywood.

The Oscars are the “Super Bowl” of the motion picture industry. To even be nominated, let alone win, an Academy Award is considered by many to be the ultimate accomplishment in the industry. Though not necessarily equated to commercial success (i.e., box office dollars), the critical acclaim a movie receives upon winning an Oscar can place a director, producer, actor, writer, or composer into an elite company of individuals who can wield significant influence both within the film industry and upon our culture.

We can pray for these cultural influencers in a number of different ways: that they would hear and recognize the still yet powerful voice of God amidst the cacophony of voices that will surround their worldly success, that God would place Christians around them who would be positive examples and effective representatives of God’s kingdom, that their current success and future creative endeavors will be used to bring God glory, and that they would ultimately acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior!

And while we’re at it, let’s not forget to pray for and support the Christians who are already there on the front lines of the Hollywood mission field. As they face the daily struggles, temptations, and challenges of working in what can be a hostile environment for believers, let’s be lifting them up to the throne of God’s grace for strength, endurance, courage, and peace as well.

Remember, we’re not in this just for the entertainment value that Hollywood delivers. Let’s keep our eye on the ball and remember that behind every great movie are real people who need Christ, too. The only difference is that the work produced by these people ultimately has an influence on millions of others worldwide. That makes Hollywood a strategic spiritual battleground for the hearts and souls of mankind. Do you want to be a part of changing the world for Christ? Then pray for Hollywood!