Alright. It’s Christmas time. Seems like most of the TV channels have caught on (although there are a
few that haven’t realized it yet and still play their go to movies…Ocean’s 13, Independence Day, The Holiday, Armageddon, etc.). The Christmas movies are all over the place. But with so many to choose from, and living in a world that needs a winner because everything is a competition, and because I just
wanna make everyone happy (ha), here are my Top 10 Christmas Movies Of…well…Ever!

10. Jingle All The Way
9. Gremlins
8. It’s A Wonderful Life
7. Ernest Saves Christmas
6. Die Hard 2: Die Harder
5. Home Alone
4. A Christmas Story
3. Elf
2. Die Hard
1. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

Your turn!  What are your favorites?

SPOILER ALERT: I’m not going to ruin the movie for you.  I’m not going to tell you what it’s about or how it ends.  If you wanna know that you can find out for yourself.  But I am going to briefly talk about the book.  So if you don’t wanna know, stop reading now and come back when you have seen the movie.

The Book Of Eli is the story of a man, Eli, who is in possession of the last Bible in the post-apocalyptic world.  He is in search of a place that the Bible will be safe and shared with everyone.  As in all movies, the hero encounters obstacles and bad guys along the journey.  But this post isn’t about the movie.  It’s about learning from it.  It’s about realizing something that we often ignore.

As the hero in the movie, Eli knows the power of the book he carries.  He reads it every day and night.  He protects it with his life.  He is determined to share it with the needy world.  But the thing that hit me was that he understood the importance of the Scriptures.  He refused to let anything happen to it and did not take it for granted.  In a world of death and darkness, he held on to the light for all it was worth.

Think about the world we live in.  It is quite different than the world portrayed in the movie.  Even in times of need there is abundance.  We have more than we deserve.  We have a tendency to take the important things for granted because we don’t realize how precious they really are.  We have Bibles all over the place.  Maybe you are like us and have several in the cabinet, a link to an online Bible on your computer and an app on your phone.  We even stock them in hotel rooms (thanks to the Gideons)!  We are more interested in the newest Harry Potter book that we are the Bible.

What if we actually lived our lives knowing that the words that we have are sacred?  What if we knew the Scriptures like Eli?  What if the Bible wasn’t just a commodity?  What if we lived as though spreading the words to those that needed to hear them was the main goal?

I bet our world would be quite different then.

How many times do we hear people whining about movies saying that they are all the same?  It didn’t end any different than every other movie.  The good guy always wins.  The couple always gets together.  The dog always dies.  The family always reunites.  On and on and on.  And we always look at movies and TV and say that they are the corruption of our youth.  I think I disagree.  I think they are the reflection of our culture.  Why do the movies all end the same?  Because that’s what we pay to go see.  Why do the same stupid reality shows keep getting recreated?  Because we sit in front of our TVs and watch them.  Why do they make High School Musical 3?  Because they are just responding to the overwhelming actions by us.  We spend good money to see these movies and they see that we are interested and make more.  But if we really don’t like it (Gigli, Catwoman, Constantine, etc.) we don’t see it and they stop making them.

I think it is for the same reason that we always see and love and get inspired by the same characters over and over in movies too.  Whether you want to admit it or not, we love it when the nerd gets the girl.  We love it when the humans defeat the aliens.  We love it when the USA beats…well…just about everyone.  That’s just how it is.  We pay to see these things.  I think that is why I won’t lose hope for America and leaders and the church and society in general.  Look at the things we celebrate in movies.  Yes sometimes we are a little off base, but look at all the good things.  There are always certain qualities within the main leaders.

The leaders that we love

• are honest.
• are decisive.
• are inspiring.
• are not self-centered.
• sacrifice for the greater good.
• are willing to give their lives.
• lead by example.

Here are just a few that pop into my head.  Obi-Wan Kenobi from Star Wars.  Whether you liked the movie or not he is a huge leader in it.  He sees the potential in Luke and sacrifices time, money and even his life to teach and save Luke.  Optimus Prime from Transformers.  Leave it to the 80′s cartoons to really teach us life lessons.  The leader of the Autobots fights to save a primitive race in the humans.  He is noble, honest, and sacrificing giving his life for the salvation of others.  President David Palmer from 24.  Even in politics we love these guys.  Palmer is the leader that America has been searching for.  He is honest and doesn’t play politics.  He risks his life.  He has a heart.  He doesn’t stop fighting for America or the good.  President Thomas Whitmore from Independence Day.  I don’t know that I have ever known anyone who isn’t completely revved up by the speech he gives before they launch the final attack against the aliens.  He leads the men into battle with his own life at risk.  He is admits when he is wrong.  He fights for the good of others and not just himself.

The list could go on and on.  Indiana Jones.  Wyatt Earp.  Harry S. Stamper.  Jack Ryan.  Jack Bauer.  Batman.  Superman.  It just doesn’t end.  Our world keeps recreating this story over and over.  When will we finally catch on?  The world really does want someone respectable, honest, sacrificing, etc. to save them.  I think we need to learn from this.  I’m not sure I have ever heard this before, but I think we need to learn from the movies.  This is just a small list of leaders and characteristics that we can learn from.  I think we can learn to be better leaders, better husbands, better dads, better pastors, etc. from these guys.  Funny how the secular world is so right on sometimes.