The Blindside

Have you ever watched the Blindside? I absolutely fell in love with that movie the first time I saw it and for those who know me, this comes as no surprise! I saw it twice in the theater and now own it, and also recently read the book b/c I think there are so many “Biblical principles” wound through it. Every time I watch it I am challenged and take a look at how I live my life.If you have not seen the movie, I will try to give a brief history of what I’m talking about. Michael Oher, the main character, was removed from his home at an early age b/c his mother was not deemed as being able to care for his 12 or so brothers and sisters. He moved around from foster home to foster home, with eventually running away. He had a father-type figure that he stayed with at times named Big Tony, who took him in. When Big Tony’s mother died, her desire was to see her grandkids get a solid Christian education. One day Big Tony took his son and Michael to a suburb Christian school in Memphis. Long story short, the Tuohy family saw that Michael had no place to go after school so they basically adopted him as their own. Mind you he’s a big dude!! And also black, where the Tuohy family is an extremely rich upper class family, with a mansion of a house! The Tuohys end up acclimated him into their lifestyle and help Michael become a phenomenal football player – after he learned the skills, he was a natural. It was not an easy road, but Michael ended up playing for Ole Miss and now plays in the NFL.

I am reminded of the verse in James 1:27 that says: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” Whew, that it PACKED with greatness! I look at the Tuohy’s and their willingness to let someone they don’t have a clue about, stay in their home b/c he didn’t have a warm place to sleep, let alone a bed. God sees looking after orphans and widows as pure and faultless – how often do I look past a widow in church and not ask how they are doing or see a “lonely” child (I don’t even think they need to be orphaned) and not ask – I am at fault. How are we to know if they aren’t in distress if we don’t ask?

I sometimes see the Bible as being “harsh to my life” b/c the Bible is a constant reminder of how to live for Christ, and yet reminds me how often I am NOT living completely for him. What about possessions? When we were in Newark, one man was saying that we should give up everything. He left the church while we were there, so it was interesting to here everyone else’s point of view, which was necessarily not the same. This man was saying to walk away from it and start new – with nothing – he had done it, so why couldn’t we? We all struggled with that. I think that we are to be READY to give up everything for Christ’s sake. I don’t necessarily think that we are to go sell our house and live on the streets. BUT, at the same time – 1 John 3:16-18 says: This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. I definitely agree with John. If we all gave up everything, then there would be no opportunities to help those in need. I know that can be a sticky subject, but everyone is called to a different ministry. Some are called to serve the orphans, some the widows, some the homeless. But then others are called to help the upper class business man and those in bars. Like the Tuohys, we need to be ready to give up of our time and possessions in order to serve those in need. Even if it ruins a “perfectly good $10,000 couch” as Mrs. Tuohy said (b/c that’s where Michael slept until they got him a bed).

I could go on and on about lessons learned from this movie! I may blog about more someday! This makes me look at my life – how I wake up each morning – do I strive to live every minute for God? Do the choices I make daily, live up to what the Bible says? Praise the Lord for HIS grace b/c I know I surely sin each and every day! It’s when we live in humbleness before God, realizing that we are nothing without Him, that we are able to be transformed!