Are you the Main Character?

The majority of individuals love a good story. Why is that?

I overheard a conversation about literature just the other day. Two people were talking about children and their need to read stories about heroes or princesses.

One individual said, “It gives the child an opportunity to put themselves in the place of the main character; to feel like the main character.”

Is this right? Is it godly? Is it holy?

Should we be raising our children in a way that encourages them to read stories that make them feel like the main character?

As I’m growing in my faith, I’m continually realizing my desire to be the main character. This is wrong. It takes God out of the picture or places Him in the background of my life. Believers are never called to be the main character, they are all called to play a small part in the background.

Jesus challenges believers in Matthew 6 to do things in secret that only the Father knows of. So the believer isn’t even called for his acts of generosity or giving to be known.

Going back to stories, for those of you who don’t know, I really enjoy watching movies. I love it when the hero wins the day. One thing I’ve noticed is not everyone is like that. So I have a loose psychological/spiritual theory on why this is.

My girlfriend and I watched The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson. The day of the movie, she heard it was three hours long and immediately sighed. I began to notice, she probably would never watch that movie if it weren’t for me bringing her along. However, don’t get me wrong, my girlfriend went because she says she loves spending time with me. And she did, in fact, enjoy the movie.

But I wondered why this is. Why was I so excited to see this movie while she wasn’t?

The observation I made was that I generally struggle with pride more than she does. I can sometimes get a big head and put God in the background of my story. I like to be the main character.

Generally, males, like myself, enjoy feeling like the main character when it comes to superheroes, soldiers, beat cops, etc. Females enjoy feeling like main characters when it comes to princesses, all-time geniuses, or the lead role in a Hallmark movie.

Each role feeds the individual's mind into feeling like that character they love so much. When a guy watches an Iron Man movie, he pictures himself in Tony Starks shoes. He is the one flying in the sky, shooting alien after alien. He’s also the one who creates Ultron… not so much, but the point is understood. When a gal watches a Princess for Christmas, a Hallmark original, she puts herself in Jules Daly’s heels. She is the one being chased after with love and affection.

Also, guys who like Hallmark movies, whoever you are, more than likely are focusing on the male chasing the female. He wants to be the “knight in shining armor.”

This concept works for movies, books, and even songs. And this concept can be dangerous. Entertainment is entertaining because it speaks to man’s sinful desire to be the main character.

Entertainment can feed pride. Which leads to God being placed in the backseat of your life. But by God’s grace, He will stay at the wheel whether you believe it or not.

So, what do we do? Do we stay away from all movies or books that make us feel so powerful? Not necessarily. Begin to look at entertainment in light of Jesus. For example, The Batman is all about justice and vengeance. Instead of picturing myself fighting bad guys across Gotham City, I should compare the main character to THE main character.

God is all about justice and He claims vengeance as His own. But what are the differences between the two personalities? God is perfect, He never fails, He never makes a mistake, He always remains in control. Batman fails, he makes mistakes, he’s barely in control. God is so much better than any other character, but I suppose one good thing about Batman is that he can perform martial arts fairly well.