Author Archives: WhittleThinker

Groundhog Day

Posted on by

Movie Summary:

I watched Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray, again today. It has become an annual event to remind me what Jesus taught about the narrow gate. The story is about a self-centered TV weatherman named Phil Conners who gets stuck reliving Groundhog Day over and over again.

The first day Phil is his normal egocentric self, treating everyone poorly. The next day he is in shock to learn he is reliving the same day, February 2. He tries to get help from his producer, Rita, a doctor and a psychiatrist, but to no avail since he wakes up to repeat the same day again.

Phil then realizes there are no consequences in his life, since no one but he remembers what happens during each repeated day, so he goes on a spree of gluttony, stealing, and seducing women. After all the “fun” is done, he sets his eyes on conquering Rita for himself. During several repeated days he learns all about her, but ends up being repeatedly slapped when he tries to seduce her.

Phil sinks into a deep depression when he realizes he cannot have Rita and he tries to commit suicide several ways but continues to reawaken to repeat the same day. He then tells Rita he is “a god” and proves it to her by describing what is going to happen before it happens and all her cherished memories he learned on previous days. She wonders and sticks with him for the rest of the day. Phil starts to show his feelings and realizes he is a jerk who does not deserve Rita since she is nice and kind to others.

Phil starts to do many random acts of kindness and begins learning new skills like playing piano and ice sculpting. Later, he takes an old homeless man to the hospital who dies to Phil’s dismay. In the next repeat day, Phil tries various ways to save the old man, but fails. He gives the eulogy on the next day.

Phil wakes up the following morning all chipper and ramps up his efforts of helping others. Everyone in town loves him and they put him up for the bachelor auction at the banquet that evening, where Rita wins him. Phil realizes he is happy no matter what happens tomorrow. Rita stays with Phil, they wake up together on February 3 breaking the cycle, and Phil asks if there is anything he can do for her.

My Thoughts:

Phil is given a chance to relive his life until he gets it right. It takes years (to him) but eventually he learns to be interested in others, to listen to their wants and dreams, to be kind, to not despair when things are not going as you would like, to love others, to be happy, to help others, to live for today and that you can do anything in life if you set your mind to it. Do not take years like Phil; make a vow to be happy today!

This movie reminds me of Jesus and the narrow gate passage because it shows someone headed down the wrong path in life and even when he gets a chance to correct it, he takes the easy way out by trying to live a life of no consequences. In the end, the movie shows the only way is through the narrow gate of hard work by being kind and helping and loving others.

Jesus points us towards the narrow gate (Matthew 7: 13-14)

Posted on by

Bible Summary:

Jesus says the gate to hell is wide, the road is easy, and many follow it there. The gate to life is narrow, the way hard, and few find it.

My Thoughts:

Choices: Every day greets us with choices. I was going to say many are easy to make, like what to eat or what to wear, and then talk about the hard ones, but even these “easy” choices are difficult. You can choose to eat high-caloric items that will add pounds or wear that revealing outfit – or not. Every choice you make, from the mundane every-day ones made out of habit to the earth-shattering ones that can dramatically change your life, is a point where you should stop and rethink what God would want you to do if He were standing beside you. It is a narrow and hard way, but the results will amaze you.

God forbids certain sexual practices (Leviticus 18)

Posted on by

Bible Summary:

God told Moses to tell the people of Israel to follow His rules and commandments, including not having sexual intercourse with:

  • Any of your relatives – mother, sister, step-sister, half-sister, aunt, grand-daughter, daughter-in-law, or sister-in-law,
  • With your wife’s sister as long as your wife is living,
  • With a woman during her period,
  • With another man’s wife,
  • With an animal, and
  • No man is to have sexual relations with another man.

My Thoughts:

This Law of Moses is clear that incest, adultery, bestiality and homosexuality are forbidden by God.

Ask and you will receive (Matthew 7: 7-12)

Posted on by

Bible Summary:

Jesus says, “Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened.” Just like you give good things to your children, God gives good things to those who ask. He also says the Law of Moses means to do for others what you would want them to do for you.

My Thoughts:

Action: Everything you want in life requires action – ask, seek, open, etc. If you want to make things better, step up and take action. Take a chance, you will be pleasantly surprised what happens.

Good for good: I believe Jesus put a different spin on Moses’ “eye-for-an-eye” law in this passage changing it to “good for good”. If you do good for others, you will receive good.

Madonna creating schools in Malawi

Posted on by

The singer Madonna’s charity called Raising Malawi is teaming up with buildOn to create ten new schools to teach 1,000 students each year in the east Africa country of Malawi.  Madonna has a special place in her heart for Malawi having adopted two children from this AIDS ravaged country where over 500,000 children have been orphaned from the epidemic. It is great to see entertainers investing their money in great causes like this.  In her spare time, Madonna will be singing during the Super Bowl halftime show this Sunday.  You go girl!

Learn more in the Madonna plans 10 schools in Malawi with new partner story at Reuters.

Global warming’s positive side effect

Posted on by

Global warming is reducing Arctic ice enough to open sea lanes for months, creating shorter shipping routes across the “polar shortcut” that can save a third of the cost and half the time sending goods from Russia to China through the Suez Canal. This northern route is only open a few months per year and requires large ice breakers, but it is pirate-free.  Read the full Arctic ice melt lifts hopes for Russian maritime trade story at Reuters.

Life of every living thing is in blood (Leviticus 17)

Posted on by

Bible Summary:

God commands Moses to have the people of Israel only kill offering animals at the entrance to the Tent of God’s presence or they will no longer be considered one of His people. At all other times, they must only eat meat without blood still in it. “The life of every living thing is in the blood.”

My Thoughts:

Interconnectedness: “The life of every living thing is in the blood” touches on the idea that all things are interconnected, like when we eat vegetables and the living plant material becomes part of our body and blood. After animals die, their bodies decay into dirt, which is blown around by wind or carried for miles by water in rivers and streams. This dirt becomes part of the soil that grows the food we and farm animals eat, so a part of every living thing is in side of us.

Love and perseverance transcend generations

Posted on by

Spend time reading to your children. Show them love and encouragement. Most of all, persevere through adversity even if it takes three jobs to support your family. The lessons will carry on for a hundred generations or more. The example of your family can influence many people to come. Read more in the Love is the ultimate hero editorial at The Princeton Packet.