Be Careful What You Wish For

First, I must confess I have never seen or read the play version of Into the Woods, so when I went to see it yesterday everything was new to me. I had barely seen a full trailer. But I'm very glad I went. The production quality was excellent, the music/songs fit the story beautifully, the dialogue was witty and clever, and the premise is intriguing. It's essentially an adult fairy tale; it weaves together the stories of Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, and Cinderella, but it's more realistic. There are fanciful elements, to be sure - magic is still a major factor. But it's not all happily ever after.

One of the things I love about the story is how it explores the necessity of being careful what you wish for. Each main character wants something, and the desires seem innocent enough: to keep a friend, have a baby, go to the ball, reverse a curse, etc. But those desires lead each character to make a mistake (or more than one). None of them seem terrible. Little things, really. But all of those mistakes combine and interact and cause a giant mess. Literally! In one musical number, several characters try to figure out who's really to blame, and it becomes apparent that all of them are in their own way. They all contributed, because they pursued what they wanted above what was right.

"You're so nice. You're not good, you're not bad, you're just nice. I'm not good, I'm not bad, I'm just right." So says the witch to a few of the characters at a crucial decision. I've pondered that statement a good bit. A lot depends on how exactly you define the terms, but I have observed that it can be a whole lot easier to be nice - be pleasant, not rock the boat, do what pleases the people you're with - than to actively do either good or evil. Because sometimes the right thing is extremely unpopular. It's not fun. It can be messy. I was reminded of Batman: "What chance does Gotham have if the good people do nothing?" But defining "good people" can be difficult, too.

Near the end of the film, some of the characters wrestle with a difficult choice and they sing a beautiful song ("No One Is Alone") containing the line, "Witches can be right/Giants can be good." I think most or all of us so often categorize people as either good or bad. We like them or we don't. Even if someone isn't a friend or an enemy, we have an opinion about them. But that's not the way people are. That's not the way the world is. No person is 100% good because we all have a sin nature. No one is 100% evil because of God's restraining grace. We all are capable of doing good or evil under the right circumstances, and many lies and false religions contain traces of truth. Sometimes what we most need to hear is said by someone we really dislike, and sometimes the people we love most mislead us. The exception of course is God, since He is incapable of lying.

In that same song, the characters realize that everyone makes mistakes, but the right response isn't blame; it's learning from our mistakes and the mistakes of others and being there for one another. We truly are never alone. Our actions always have a ripple effect. And God has designed us to live out Christianity with other people. When someone falls, we pick them up and help them move forward. We don't look for revenge; we remember that we've made more than our share of mistakes, too.

The movie does have a few negative elements. Some of the morality is questionable, not all the dress is modest, and there's a few off-color comments. But overall, I recommend watching it. There's a lot more to be gleaned from it than my few thoughts. Venture Into the Woods.

Nate

Merry Christmas!

While there's not quite as much snow on the ground here in Denver as I imagined there would be, it still feels like Christmas :) It's been quite a year, full of surprises, laughter, sorrow, and blessings. God has shown Himself faithful as always. Amid the presents, lights, food, and fellowship, it's easy to get caught up in the things of Christmas. But as we celebrate this special day, let's take time to think about what God did and how incredible it really is.

At that time in history, God hadn't given any special revelation to His people for about 400 years. The Jews were living under Roman control and domination. The promises of the coming Messiah probably seemed almost mythical to some of the people. They went on with their sacrifices day after day, but nothing seemed to change. Then an angel came to Mary and told her the most incredible news: she was going to give birth to the Savior of all of humanity; Jesus, God wrapped in humanity. I can't even imagine what went through her head at that point. Not only was she having this baby, she was going to have it through completely supernatural means. The next several months must have been difficult. As we would today, I'm sure many people highly doubted that she was both pregnant and a virgin. I imagine Joseph took some heat and faced accusations as well.

Right around Mary's due date, they had to make a difficult journey to Bethlehem, a small town away from both Roman splendor and the Jewish religious leaders. The King of all the universe was born in about the most humble place imaginable: a smelly, dirty, cramped stable surrounded by animals. The only people who came to worship Him that night were some shepherds, dregs of the society in those days (the Magi wouldn't arrive for over a year). No trumpets or fanfare announced his arrival. But He would do what no one in thousands of years of history could: fulfill God's law perfectly, please Father in everything He did, and eventually subject Himself to the most torturous and cruel death practiced.

Why? What possessed Him to go through that when no one was less deserving than He? Because He loved you. He loved me. He left the glory and splendor and perfection of heaven and came here, where there's pain, grief, hunger, thirst, and death. The supreme Ruler became a servant. He looked out over the crowds and saw sheep without a shepherd. God created people to love Him and have fellowship with Him. Our sin destroys our relationship with the perfect and holy God. We can never ever be good enough. Left on our own, we all fall short and deserve nothing more or less than eternal judgment. But God (two of my favorite words in all of Scripture) took action. He became a man, went through the same kinds of temptation we go through, and overcame. He lived the perfect life we never could, died the death we deserved to die, and returned to life as all who put their faith in Him will one day do also.

God gave us the greatest gift in history. Let's be sure to thank Him for that and remember that no matter what situation you're in this Christmas, if you're in God's family, you're blessed beyond all imagination. Merry Christmas :)

Nate

Why?

"Why?" is the question I keep asking myself as I begin my blogging adventure. Why should I write my thoughts down? Are they really worth reading? I'll let you decide that for yourself. But after some thought, I've decided I'll write this blog in the hopes that it will challenge and encourage both myself and others to think. I know I definitely don't think enough, and when I do think I often don't think deeply.

I've entitled the blog "Confessions of a Storyholic" (yes I know that's not a real word; deal with it) because I LOVE a good story. Good stories suck me into their worlds for hours on end. They make me think, dream, imagine, and wonder. The Bible tells the greatest story in all of history (and is itself history), and so sometimes I'll share thoughts from one passage or another. But there are plenty of other stories that are well worth reading/hearing/seeing. So the majority of my posts will deal with extra-Biblical stories.

I always welcome comments, criticisms, suggestions, different viewpoints, etc. I do ask though that you keep your comments respectful and free of profanity and crude language. I hope that as you brave the thoughts that make their way onto this blog you'll be inspired to check out some of the stories I reference and, of course, think.

Nate