After several weeks of anticipation, I finally got to go see The Hunger Games Saturday night. I was eager to see the movie for two reasons: (a) I loved the books and (b) my native home, Western North Carolina, served as district 12.
I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. For the most part it stayed true to the book but as with any film addaptation there were cuts/changes made. The good part though was that they did not take away from the story at all. And it was quite fun seeing places I had hiked to and visited in my life on the big screen. Those who hail from more commonly filmed landmarks may not see the big deal in this, but for this small town mountain boy, it was a big deal.
As usual when I consume pop culture, I could not help reflect on the social and theological implications of the work. For those of you who don't know, without spoilers, the premise of the Hunger Games is that in a post apocalypse America, the fascist government insists on each district (think states) sending a male and female tribute (children)to partiticpate in a death match. The purpose of this is to remind the people of what it costs to rebel against the governrnment. The names of the tributes are drawn randomnly but to receieve extra food for their families, the triutes have the opportunity to enter their name additional times, hence the title "The Hunger Games."
So as I read and watched the story unfold, I couldn't help but think about the real hunger games going on in the world all around us. With the recent explosion of the Kony video, the real life issue of children being forced to fight to death came to the pullic conversation. While I am not sure if the methodology really did or will do anything to help address the issue, at least it is burned into people's consciousness.
But what about the Gospel? Jesus called on His followers to follow him, and doing so meant loving each other as oneself. Are Christians in the world today doing that? Jesus had a special place in his heart for children. With the two coupled together realizing that children are the ones who suffer the most from hunger and war, and the church's less than stellar record in addressing it, I can't help but have my heart broken. And I know Jesus heart breaks as well. For He told us "whatever you do unto the least of these, you do unto me." If we really believe that then I can't help but think to myself, we are subjecting Jesus Christ to hunger games the world over. Jesus went to the cross for us, why do we shy away from being his heart, his hands, his feet in a hurting broken world? The way I see it, if believers do not step up, then our world will increasingly look like Panem, the world of "The Hunger Games". Is that the kind of world you want?
I didn't think so.
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