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"LOOK AT ME - LOOK AT ME -
I'M THE CAPTAIN NOW."
(orders from Somalian pirate, Abduwali Muse,
in the movie, Captain Phillips)
 | | Captain Phillips - Official Movie Trailer |
While living in Atlanta in the 80's, I had the opportunity to work as a movie critic for Ted Baehr, the Christian founder and publisher of MOVIEGUIDE. My job was to review the early releases of every major movie, and then write my critique in a column for Mr. Baehr's publications. Not only was it a fun job, but it was an eye opener. As a critic, I had the daunting task of sifting through the deeper meaning of every movie I reviewed, and whether or not it was appropriate for a Christian audience. As a result, I learned to look beyond the cinematic appeal of the actor's involved, and take a deeper look at what the movie was actually saying.
MOVIEGUIDE
THE FAMILY GUIDE TO MOVIES
To this day, I still continue to view movies with a critical eye. I recently saw the movie "CAPTAIN PHILLIPS" which stars Tom Hanks who plays Captain Phillips, the commander of the MV Maersk Alabama, and Barkhad Abdi, a Somalian actor who plays the role of Abduwali Muse who is a ship hijacker and pirate leader.
I would give this white-knuckle movie an A-plus when it comes to non-stop action. It kept me sitting on the edge of my seat, nervously stuffing popcorn by the handfuls into my mouth, and clutching my husband's knee. And the actors were superb. Especially Somalian born actor, Barkhad Abdi. When he looked at Captain Phillips and said, "Look at me - Look at me - I'm the Captain now.", the chills ran up my arms, and I realized something significant had taken place.
The power had now shifted!
THE POWER HAS NOW SHIFTED
"Open those eyes and look at me. I'm the Captain now. Hey, are you snoring???"
Anybody who's ever worked with horses knows the importance of being the leader. When I work with a horse, especially a new one, I like to remind them that there's a new sheriff in town. Depending on the horse, sometimes that's easy. And sometimes it's not. You can't make any progress with a horse or move forward in his training without first establishing a hierarchy of power. Horse Rule #1 - I'm the Captain. My horse is the follower. He does what I say and not the reverse. No matter what circumstances we encounter together, or how my horse chooses to behave or react,
Rule #1 never changes.
So, how does a human leader become Captain over a 1200 plus pound horse? By gaining control of the horse's feet. When we move a horse's feet forwards, backwards, left and right, we are requiring him to use the thinking side of his brain instead of the reactive and instinctual side. When a horse finally learns to relinquish the control of his feet and his movements to his human leader (Captain) - the power shifts. And when there is a power shift, then anything is achievable, and everything becomes possible.
"This is your Captain speaking. I would like to thank you for finally giving me two eyes. Now we can get somewhere!"
I can remember back when I first got saved in 1979. I accepted Christ, and thought everything would go smoothly from that point on. NOT! I spent the first year thinking it was perfectly fine for me to accept all the benefits of being a Christian, but retain my autonomy to do what I wanted. In other words, I liked the perks of being a Christian, especially going to heaven, but while I was here on earth - I wanted to maintain control of my own decisions. In other words, I didn't want rules!
It would take some time before I began to fully realize what actually took place when I accepted Christ as Lord of my life. I had been redeemed and purchased through the blood of Jesus Christ. In other words, I was no longer my own. There was a new Captain in my life, and He was now the one in control. And furthermore, my new Captain required me to follow some new rules/commandments.
How Is It That After Having
Been Changed -
We Remain The Same?
Just like a horse with habitual and/or problem behaviors, people can develop habitual lifestyle patterns, too. And just like the horse, some of those patterns of behavior have taken years to develop, and become hard habits to break.
So, let's talk about habits. A habit, by it's very nature, is a habitual or ongoing thought or act that one is unwilling to relinquish (let go of). Notice that I used the word "unwilling", and not "unable". A disease or death is something we may be unable to shake. But a habit can be broke if you're willing. When you get right down to it, the unwillingness to break a bad habit is disobedience to God, and comes with consequences.
MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT -
SIN HAS CONSEQUENCES, EVEN IF THEY'RE SLOW IN SHOWING UP.
One of the things that dumbfounds me are people who confess to be Christians, yet they are comfortably content to live their life with many of the same habitual patterns of wrong behavior as they did before accepting Christ.
For example, living together without the benefit of marriage, lying to one another, using God's name in vain, coveting what others have, dishonoring one's parents, etc. People who claim to be a Christian, but who habitually break God's commandments, are like a rebellious horse who lacks understanding. They like the perks the Captain provides like good food and shelter, but refuse to obey the Captain's rules. Furthermore, because the Captain is slow to anger, they're not aware that eventually - and eventually is all that counts - they will come to the end of their disobedient rope! And guess who will be there?
WHEN YOU COME TO THE END OF YOUR ROPE, GOD WILL BE THERE.
"This is your Captain speaking. When you run out of rope, I'll be there. How can you be sure of that? Because the rope that I've attached to you is still under my feet!"
Consider this, when working with a horse, a good trainer never corrects the horse's mistake until the horse actually makes one!
Think about that for a moment. A trainer doesn't correct what a horse is thinking about, nor what the horse is tempted to do, although he is aware of the horse's intentions. A good trainer waits until the horse is fully commited to making the mistake. Then he corrects it. His correction may be gentle, it may be harsh. But it will always be fair. For a horse trainer, it's all about timing, and making the right thing easy and the wrong thing difficult. For the horse, it's all about learning to follow the leader. As for you and me, it's all about rule #1.
Rule #1 - God is the Captain now!
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