A.R.K.

So Millie and I had a date night last Friday and since there's really not much out in theaters right now worth seeing (in comparison with the anticipation of Harry Potter and Transformers!) we went to Evan Almighty... I had heard mostly bad reviews, but since the source was less than reliable we thought we'd give it a shot; after all, it did look "good."

And it was good. I liked it. It had a great message. I think Millie tends to see most movies/books/forms of entertainment as just that... entertainment (you can correct me if I'm way wrong Bean) but I love looking for messages in almost all that I'm exposed to.

Of course the story is LOOSELY based off of the story of Noah and the ark... and coming out of Hollywood (and considering it starred Steve Carell) they didn't seem to be TOO far off on the POINT of the story. There's even a part where God (played by Morgan Freeman) says to Evan: The story of Noah isn't a story about God's vengeance or wrath, it's about love... it's about the animals walking side by side, two by two into the ark... it's about Noah and his family working along side each other, supporting each other and trusting each other... and that no matter what Even is put through, God does it because he loves him. Another point made was how Evan had been elected to Congress and set out to "change the world"... God (Morgan Freeman) explained that the way you change the world is by simple and small Acts of Random Kindness (A.R.K.).

Which brings me to my next point... The short story "Homeless In Hell", by Orson Scott Card, tells of a man who dies and was not good enough for heaven and not bad enough for hell, and so, like many other "lost souls" was forced to wander the streets of hell. In the streets he meets a man who gives him a "job." His job is to help living children. Mostly to bring them comfort (for those that are lonely or scared or being abused) or to help in anyway they can. The story is a Christmas story so it talks about how the Christmas holiday is the busiest and that's when they try to find ways to "pick the pockets of the wealthy" and find ways to "get the money into the hands of children in need." He explains how being dead and without a body makes this VERY difficult since there are VERY few dead souls that are able to affect the living world, and those who can have VERY limited abilities. The point of the story is this: He explains how it is SO easy for the living to make a difference in the lives of others (children specifically in the story) yet so few take the opportunities to do so. He reflects (as a dead person) on how much more he could have done in life to make a difference and maybe make it into heaven had he just acted once in a while.

My third (and last) point is this: This is really more for me than anyone else, but I call myself to action. Sure I don't see many opportunities to really help someone in "need"... my life is very routine. But I know there are people in the world that could use a hand and I hope to do better at providing that hand and serve. Sure it's just a movie, or just a short story, but I believe truth can be found in all mediums and I support anything that is in line with the gospel of Jesus Christ and serves to make the world a little better. It's easy to be overwhelmed and forget, but truly, by simple Acts of Random Kindness, I think we can change the world.