Did you really see what you thought you saw? Do you really know what you think you know?

Lesley and I took advantage of a rare opportunity to take in a movie while we were in Chicago. The first day there, we had a few hours before the evening session and decided to go on a “date” and see a movie. We settled on Vantage Point. As a movie, I thought it was not only interesting, but timely, since it dealt with terrorist issues. It had its share of language, but as movies go these days, the language was very subdued. As a side note, I really appreciate that. I have never thought that obscene and foul language necessarily added to the development of the story, which, after all, is what a movie is. Back to the movie. There was one dramatic device that got a little irritating, but it could be overlooked after the second or third instance since you began to understand its place and the reason for it.

The gist of the story is about unwrapping an event from a wide variety of perspectives. Each one giving the viewer a slightly different view and additional information. What you realize as you watch the movie is that you really didn’t understand the whole story until you were able to see all of the different vantage points.

LESSONS LEARNED

  1. Far too often, I jump to conclusions based on the information at hand without the benefit of knowing all the facets of the story. Do you do that as well?
  2. Life is an unfolding story, and there are more connected pieces than we realize. Maybe you’ve heard of “six degrees of separation”. That basically says if you invest the time and energy, you can find yourself connected to anybody in the world through a series of six people. I’m not sure if that’s true, but while watching the movie, I was reminded that our actions are often connected to the realities of other people that we may not even know. That gives me incentive to try to stay outside of my tendency toward selfishness and to stay focused on others. I want to live in such a way that the impact of my life has positive ripples in the lives of those who I may never know.
  3. There really are evil people in the world. We are not all “good”. We are all born with a sin-nature and we are capable of some pretty terrible things. Most of us restrain that nature either through submission to the will and guidance of God, or by submitting to the laws of government that protect us against wrong. But there are people who throw of all such restraints and care nothing about the taking of innocent human lives. That is a reality that we have to understand or we will blame God for many acts of horror and violence that he is not responsible for.

If you’re a movie-goer, I think this one may be worth the price of the ticket (or the price of the DVD…they’re about the same these days). There’s plenty of suspense and guys will love the replays of the explosions. Enjoy it while you watch, but see if God reveals some other lessons for you in the process. If so, feel free to share them here.

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