HappyThankYouMorePlease

I just watched a movie entitled “HappyThankYouMorePlease.” It came to my attention because it involves (very peripherally) foster care. And while some of the banter in it is witty, overall it left me with a great sadness over the selfishness of my generation.

The take-away line of the film is “go get yourself loved.” One of the characters declares that she and her friend are worthy of being adored, of being happy. And while that sounds nice on paper or a coffee mug, when you look at the characters, they aren’t particularly worthy of being loved. One is a woman who struggles to feel beautiful (she has alopecia) yet refuses to date a wonderful guy because she doesn’t think he’s attractive enough. The other is a guy whose writing career is failing because his life has been too easy; he is bitter that a good childhood has left him with nothing important to say. He takes in a stranded foster child, but his motives are wholly selfish and he is comprehensively thoughtless in his attitude toward the child. Even though the storyline is somewhat resolved, the adult only seems interested in the child because the kid’s life has been rough enough that he might actually make it as an artist.

It was a disturbing glimpse into the emptiness of a life that simply seeks itself. It was also a potent reminder of the hollowness of life without God. Having lived that life until about five years ago, I can say that the difference between “I exist to make myself happy, no matter what” and “I exist to bring glory to God, no matter what” is vast. The message our culture (and this movie) espouses is “you deserve to be loved, so seek that at all costs.” The message of the Gospel is “you don’t deserve to be loved, but God loved you so much He paid all costs to seek you.”

If I set about my life with the purpose of “go get yourself loved,” I would be absolutely, 100% miserable. I can’t even really imagine what that would look like, but it wouldn’t be pretty, and I sure as shootin’ wouldn’t feel loved. But because I have been redeemed by Christ’s great love for me, I can step firmly with the purpose “go and love.” Suddenly my life is filled with joy, even when it isn’t (if you know what I mean).

I like movies that make me think. (I also like movies that give me a break from thinking, but that’s another post.) And though I wouldn’t recommend this movie to very many people (it’s rated R, with bells on), it was a thought-provoking glimpse at what life and life values look like without Christ. In the movie, they claim that we need to say ‘thank you’ in order to invite abundance into our lives. Instead, this movie reminded me to say ‘thank you’ because of the abundance in my life.

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ. –Philippians 1:9-10