After watching the “Pitch Perfect” and “Victorious” renditions of “Don’t you (Forget about me)” by Simple Minds, I decided to watch “The Breakfast Club”, and I must say, I was Impressed. I greatly enjoyed the story that was portrayed; A group of teenagers from different tiers of the social and economic ladder, all bound by a similar reality, their lives were broken.
Their differences were very obvious at the beginning of the movie, but as it progressed, it was evident that they were all sipping from the bitter-sweet fountain of life. The purpose of this article is not to do a movie review. Not my cup of tea!
However, there was a scene in the movie which left me very pensive. In this scene, two of the male characters (Brain and Andrew) were looking at and making fun of the contents in each other’s wallets. Suddenly, a female character (Allison) asked if they wanted to know what was in her bag. They both said “No”, but she insisted on showing them anyway.
The subtle cry of the broken-hearted
What was in Allison's bag was a representation of her desire to run away from her home. Bearing in mind, she admitted to being a compulsive liar earlier in the show, so we can’t trust all that she said. However, one cannot ignore how eager she was for the others to see what's in her bag and her willingness to confirm Brian’s suspicion of her wanting to run away.
There are many around us who live complicated and harsh lives. Some fake it until they make it, others make it very obvious while there are others who wrestle in between the two extremes. Nevertheless, we (believers) are encouraged (challenged) to serve them all in their time of need.
Galatians chapter 6 verses 9 and 10 encourage us not to be weary of doing good and to use every opportunity to do good to all people. We should endeavor to serve all people irrespective of where they fall in the categories described earlier. People yearn to see consistency in us believers) but consistency requires hard work and it's accomplished over time.
It’s such consistency that they see in us that encourage individuals to come to us with their cries for help. With the hope that we would both serve and share our hope with them. However, if we don’t make the most in services to individuals who come by, dangerous things can happen.
Hopeless hearts don’t discern deception very well
Many of us, at whatever stage of our lives, had to confront the brokenness of our lives. However, I believe that hearts that are perpetually broken tend to leave individuals hopeless. These individuals tend not to discern deception very well.
Last month, there was an incident that took place in St. James Jamaica, where police had to intervene as the pastor of the Pathways International Kingdom Church was carrying out human sacrifices with the belief that he had been given the power to raise those sacrificed from the dead (http://jamaica-star.com/article/news/20211019/woman-says-she-was-nearly-sacrificed). The narrative on social media is that congregants are foolish for placing their hope in such a pastor. They even go on to say that these people were brained-washed.
Although this may be true, all I could think about is how these congregants are everyday people who we interact with at work, supermarket and school. That this church (pastor) provided them with hope. That they may have seen consistency in this church (pastor) which made them believe he was trustworthy.
My heart was broken because this situation allowed me to see how much this world needs believers to walk consistently and faithfully in love. It emphasized the reality that everyone who comes by who I have ignored may go to someone else for hope and that person may not be very trustworthy. That our hope in Jesus Christ is a sacred gift that should be shared with others.
Misplaced resolve
When a hopeless heart gives in to deception, this results in a misplaced resolve . We see many examples of this in our world; terrorist groups, cults, and atheists just to name a few. There are many who pledge their resolve to causes which have zero bearings on eternity.
Our willingness to love and serve them is the only way people can see what truth looks like. 1st John chapter 3 verse 18 encourages us not to love in word or speech only, but in truth and action. My encouragement today is that we would strive to put our love into action with truth. Let our resolve be to serve those who have misplaced their resolve in deceptive ideologies. Serving to the best of our ability, believing that great is our reward not only in this life, but in the life to come.
Akeel Henry (West Indies) enjoys sharing the hope of Jesus Christ with all individuals. He is currently a trained Biochemist who aspires to become a physician and a pastor. If you wish to share feedback concerning his articles, his email address is ah051097@gmail.com. He can also be reached on facebook, Instagram (Akeel Henry) and on twitter (@A155_thevine).