I love to watch movies a little more than I probably should. I am certainly not as bad as many people out there but I’m definitely addicted more than most. And I like to think that I have a way with words sometimes when my creative juices are really flowing. Still I have not once – and I mean ever – been asked by a movie studio to review a movie so that they could use that review for their commercial. And yes, to answer your question, I am slightly offended by that!
But only slightly, because I know they’ve never asked you either. In fact, they never really care much about the review that anyone I know would give their movies. It’s all about Ebert and Roeper and The Los Angeles Times and a few hand-selected others. When you read their thoughts on some movies you know that there had to be a more illustrious and even more beautiful way they could use to describe it than the way they’ve picked.
So the obvious conclusion is that it must not be about exactly what’s being said as it is about who’s saying it. You could know so much more about what makes a good movie and could even be able to tell which movies really are going to do better than others, but that doesn’t matter when you don’t have the position. Those few names and companies you hear talking about movies and letting you know if they’re worth seeing have worked and strived to get there. And so we listen.
Why is it then that we sometimes listen to every voice in our lives without reservation?
The story of our life is being played out and we spend too much time listening to the critics instead of listening to the one voice that matters most. There are always going to be critics out there. And they can be harsh in their opinions of what you do or who you are. Everyone has an opinion these days and not many people worry about just opening up their mouth and sharing those opinions freely. Each of us know what it’s like to have someone talk down to us. We’ve had people call us worthless, stupid, ugly, annoying, boring or a plethora of other negative things. And maybe we’ve even caught ourselves sending these messages to ourselves.
The word is out there that we aren’t good enough, are constantly messing up, and can’t seem to get it right no matter how hard we try. But what does God have to say? See, that’s what really matters. You may fight against that idea and actually want to hear what others have to say, but it’s like seeing your review of a movie on a trailer for a movie – it makes no sense! Maybe God will even give you some encouragement to work on some things in your life, but it’ll always be surrounded in love. Because though the world can be a cruel place and we can even be our own worst critics, God has declared that we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).
You are critically acclaimed!