Last night I watched Back to the Future for the first time. Now, I don't generally go looking for spiritual lessons in movies (let alone those featuring Micheal J. Fox in ungodly tight jeans), but something struck me as I watched this masterpiece of American film-making.
In the beginning of the film, the aforementioned tight jeans-wearer is with his family. His parents marriage seems rocky, his dad is a wimp, and his mom drinks a lot. Later, when the young man goes back in time, he encounters his parents when they were in high school. True to form, his dad is a wimp, and his mom has already begun drinking.
SPOILER ALERT**** If you haven't seen the movie and don't care to have the plot ruined for you, turn back now! In reality, after about 15 minutes of the movie, the plot is very predictable, so it shouldn't ruin your movie-watching experience much.
When Marty is in the past interacting with his parents, he convinces his dad that he is strong and confident. He also suggests to his mom that she stop drinking.
When he gets BACK...to the....FUTURE! he finds that his parents are still wildly in love, much wealthier, and his dad is confident and successful. The man who bullied him in high school is no longer his boss, but is working for him!
What's the point of all of this? Marty was able to bring encouragement into the lives of his parents in their youth, and it brought about drastic change in their future.
Here are a couple ideas to chew on from this:
*Look around at those you would consider deadbeats, losers, criminals, etc. Is it possible that they did not have someone in their lives as youth to encourage them in their true identity and potential? Perhaps no one looked them in the eye and called them into their destiny. Perhaps most of the people in their lives spoke down to them, saying they would never amount to anything. Before we judge, criticize, and condemn them, let's consider their probable history.
*Consider also the potential positive impact of an encouraging word.
"Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear." (Ephesians 4:29)
According to the Bible, the things we say can actually release grace to those who hear us. Grace is God's empowerment to live victorious lives. We can actually impart His power to people through our words. When I tell someone who is discouraged, 'You can do it', I am actually giving him the power to accomplish his task by my words. God has given us that much authority by our words! (Now, people can resist that and nullify the power of the encouragement by not agreeing with what we say, but that's another story.) Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a word in due season (see Isaiah 50:4,5) that could shape the course of someone's life today!
There are other spiritual treasures hidden in this movie, but you'll have to pull out your VHS player and watch it yourself to find them :)
