Crash

As my title suggests I watched the movie Crash tonight. I can see why it won best picture. Its such an interesting study of society. Of human nature left unchecked to do what it will. With each new character introduced my sister and I sat cringing on the couch. She kept finding excuses to leave the room when one of them would go to make a bad choice. I am not sure what the film wants the viewer to walk away with; a new sense of the need for justice? The need to address racism? That we would hold up a mirror and see our own prejudices? to be angry? sad? disheartened? Determined never to move to LA? or is it just another Hollywood film that means nothing-just more violence to prove how evil our world is?

For me it was a little bit of all of it-but mostly (and I know this sounds cliche) I felt how strongly we are fallen as people, and how awful this world would be if we took Jesus out of the picture. This movie is about what happens to us when we look after ourselves first above all others. This movie is about what happens when we don't turn the other cheek. This is a movie about what happens when we think that retaliation is the answer to our problems. This movie is about when we stop looking into each other's eyes to see who we are, and instead see only a color, a shape, a size, a language, an ethnicity.

Watching this movie I was reminded about the prejudice that I fight, sometimes daily. I work in an environment where there is a high amount of theft. Almost every person we have caught has fallen into two catagories- they are either high on something or homeless. The stereotype that rules our decisions in the store was earned. So now someone who appears to be homeless or doped up walks into my store and we all keep an extra eye on that person to make sure they too don't walk out with something that is not theirs. I have questioned this preventive measure before-as I do now. To protect my store I justify putting a "type" of people on the red flag list. How am I different from the people in this movie? How is my prejudice different from theirs?

Its horrifying to imagine that "Hollywood" image of society becoming reality, our only choice. I have goosebumps all over imagining satan in control. When fear rules us that is what is happening. Fear does not come from God. In general it is hard not to feel that our world, our country, is spiraling out of control down a path of self-destruction fueled by fear. It seems almost like a miracle that God has protected us for this long from such a terrible fate. The only conclusion to such a desperate out look is knowing that because I am loved, because you are loved by Christ, we get to make a different choice. We get to rely on Someone way more powerful then I can even imagine to help us make the right choice, to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, to turn the other cheek, to let Someone else retaliate for us (He says He will), to look our enemy in the eyes and love them anyway. What a gift-to not live out of fear-but as a loved child of God.