Again, it was one of those nights and I got caught up in watching a movie. Now I enjoy a good flick, whether for research, pleasure or both, but it always catches me by surprise when I find those gems that spark thought, evoke emotion and as Captain Malcom Reynolds might put it, "That there is surely something that invokes a man to be inspired."
When trying to shed an ounce of insight on my evening I began to think of how the deceiver is the master of doing just that. Our thoughts lend towards the idea that we just might be able to become better, a life without sin and we are led to believe that we can do it on our own. "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist," (The Usual Suspects, 1995) but it goes even further than just that. Society has led us to believe that the solution to our problems does not lie in the government but it lies in each of us...Sounds great doesn't it, a way to inspire people and get them to work for, dare I say it, the devil? I don't think that working for the government is bad, or that the government is bad, but what I am saying is that fundamentally the idea that the solution lies in man is the misconception. The solution to our worlds problems: social, political, personal, public, lies in our Saviour Jesus Christ.
I live in Los Angeles, California, the heart of the entertainment industry. This is a place where radical ideas are born. I have noticed that in being edgy or active politically or even in entertainment a formula must be followed. For acceptance, you should probably not be a Christian, you should vote Democrat and always tell people that they can do pretty much whatever they want as long as it doesn't hurt me. For success, make a movie that is bizarre and makes no sense, write a screenplay that fits a formula that is known to sell, join a union and strike if you don't get your way. And guess what, every body does it.
As Christians I notice how I immediately stand out from those around me. Disgust and bitterness just at the mention of the name Christian. Well, we have the answer, we know the news, we are one up on the great deceiver and he doesn't like it. Then I am watching the movie Serenity (2005) and it clicks again:
MAL:
This report is maybe twelve years old. Parliament buried it, and it stayed buried 'till River dug it up. This is what they feared she knew, and they were right to fear it. 'Cause there's a whole universe of folk that are gonna know it, too. They're gonna see it. Somebody has to speak for these people.
So whose it gonna be? Can we handle breaking the mold of comfort? Let me say this, looking through the letters written by Paul I can see an example of breaking the mold. Heck, we'll make it easier than that. This guy named Jesus was hung on a cross for breaking the mold. Then much to the surprise of the devil, he rose and I can pretty much be certain that he didn't see that coming.
But we are all called to serve for different reasons and not everyone is here in Hollywood. That make no never mind to me. You still have the same objective.
MAL: (CONT'D)
You all got on this boat for different reasons, but you all come to the same place. so now I'm asking more of you than I have before. Maybe all. Sure as I know anything I know this, they will try again. Maybe on another world, maybe on this very ground swept clean. A year from now, ten, they'll swing back to the belief that they can make people...better. And I do not hold to that. So no more running.
(beat)
I aim to misbehave.
JAYNE:
Shepherd Book used to tell me, "If you can't do something smart, do something right."
ZOE:
It's a fair bet the Alliance knows about Mr. Universe. They're gonna see this coming.
MAL:
No. They're not gonna see this coming.
So let's aim to misbehave, because they won't see this coming.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Memorial to a Tiger
When I was in 5th grade, the age of 10 as my mother says, my father came home from work with a surprise that none of us were expecting. He had heard the cries of a small kitten coming from the inside of a drain pipe that came from underneath the sidewalk outside his office. After some coaxing with food, he found a small kitten small enough to hide in the palm of his hand. The kitten looked much like a gray scale tiger and we all grew rather fond of the little guy quickly. We named him Tiger.
It was the duty of my brother and I to teach the little cat the ways of a warrior, so we continually gave it wrestling lessons and gave that cat an edge in the ways of defending itself. When it was about three years of age it went missing. My sister who was a major animal lover convinced my dad to go looking for him around the neighborhood and much to my surprise, the came home with cat in hand. It had been found in the neighbors tree with it's foot caught in the branches, it had been there for two to three days until my sister rescued it.
A year or so later, we added a dog to the family that scared the cat and it eventually ran away. One early morning while I was getting ready to start my paper route I saw a rather familiar cat walking down the street, and it was not afraid of me. I approached it and was able to pick it up and quickly discovered that I had found the 1 week long missing cat, Tiger. I returned it home immediately before I started my route.
The cat was fixed and decided it would stay at home and rule the neighborhood. Some days on my way out the door I would see an enormous cat get laid out, by a cat half its size. I knew it's childhood training had paid off and Tiger was a force to be reckoned with in the neighbor hood, and he ruled it.
Years past and the cat grew old, new additions came to the family. A young kitten named Nala, the annoyance in Tiger's side that grew to be a companion. He learned to tolerate the young restless kitten and taught it in the wisdoms of his age. She in turn, learned to respect Tiger and learn from him.
It was the night of Tuesday, September 30, 2008. Sixteen and a half years since Tiger was abandoned as a runt of a kitten. Sixteen and a half years when Tiger first saw the light of day. Health issues had turned the muscle and sometimes fat into pure skin and bones. He was loved and cared for the whole night, pet and scratched with returns of his unforgettable purr as he recognized he was loved. A clean towel was placed in his bed and he was set down for a nights rest.
Dawn, Wednesday, October 1, 2008. Just before waking Tiger breathed his last and passed peacefully in his sleep. No growling of pain, no horrific accident. Just old age and a cats legacy left behind. The fearless cat, the fighter, the companion the mold for what a cat should be - 16 1/2 years to date and never forgotten. To a Tiger, to a Legacy and to a friend.
It was the duty of my brother and I to teach the little cat the ways of a warrior, so we continually gave it wrestling lessons and gave that cat an edge in the ways of defending itself. When it was about three years of age it went missing. My sister who was a major animal lover convinced my dad to go looking for him around the neighborhood and much to my surprise, the came home with cat in hand. It had been found in the neighbors tree with it's foot caught in the branches, it had been there for two to three days until my sister rescued it.
A year or so later, we added a dog to the family that scared the cat and it eventually ran away. One early morning while I was getting ready to start my paper route I saw a rather familiar cat walking down the street, and it was not afraid of me. I approached it and was able to pick it up and quickly discovered that I had found the 1 week long missing cat, Tiger. I returned it home immediately before I started my route.
The cat was fixed and decided it would stay at home and rule the neighborhood. Some days on my way out the door I would see an enormous cat get laid out, by a cat half its size. I knew it's childhood training had paid off and Tiger was a force to be reckoned with in the neighbor hood, and he ruled it.
Years past and the cat grew old, new additions came to the family. A young kitten named Nala, the annoyance in Tiger's side that grew to be a companion. He learned to tolerate the young restless kitten and taught it in the wisdoms of his age. She in turn, learned to respect Tiger and learn from him.
It was the night of Tuesday, September 30, 2008. Sixteen and a half years since Tiger was abandoned as a runt of a kitten. Sixteen and a half years when Tiger first saw the light of day. Health issues had turned the muscle and sometimes fat into pure skin and bones. He was loved and cared for the whole night, pet and scratched with returns of his unforgettable purr as he recognized he was loved. A clean towel was placed in his bed and he was set down for a nights rest.
Dawn, Wednesday, October 1, 2008. Just before waking Tiger breathed his last and passed peacefully in his sleep. No growling of pain, no horrific accident. Just old age and a cats legacy left behind. The fearless cat, the fighter, the companion the mold for what a cat should be - 16 1/2 years to date and never forgotten. To a Tiger, to a Legacy and to a friend.
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