Ummm, don’t ya kinda wonder sometimes how some people come to be the way they are? Of course you do. Most of you who visit here are writers or readers or both. And it doesn’t take a genius to determine how important the functions of characters are to a plot. Do we love them? Do we hate them? Do we identify with them? Are we appalled by their thoughts and actions? Are we right inside their skins during their failings?
Lately I’ve found that when authors try the impossible task (to me) of building a novel around an unlikable character, I usually don’t like the story. If an author waits until the end of story to redeem them, it’s too late for me. Yes, I realize the importance of unconditional love and the necessity of forgiveness, but don’t expect me to apply those godly principles to a character on a page. You’ve already lost me if you don’t give me something to like about the “person”. The reason being I don’t have to forgive a jerk developed from someone’s imagination. Haven’t we all met enough jerks? At school? At work? At church, for cryin’ out loud? Who wants to spend time with them between the covers of a book?
In person I go to the enth degree to find a way toward compassion and understanding. I want there to be a way to dig deep into a person’s psyche or heart and find that redeemable something that Christ sees. I want to see with His perceptions. I think it’s interesting that God has shown us not all will accept Him, that evil exists within each of us, and that some cultivate it and allow it to dominate them. It’s stunning that He tells us not to have anything to do with some people. He tells us that we have nothing in common with those who excel in darkness and not to be “yoked” together with them. He even confirms for us that "bad company corrupts good character".
You might wonder what sparked this post. I have to tell you it was the bold print headline on the opening internet page which declared that Pamela Anderson stripped for Hugh Hefner on his 82nd birthday and proceeded to show a picture of a seductive kiss shared by this late 30-something former bunny and her octogenarian former boss who supposedly wears a vial of Viagra around his neck (who knows?). Honestly, it made my skin crawl. The demons of lust were almost visible in the photograph.
And I had to ask “Why?” What happened to Pamela? What happened to Hugh? How did Hugh raise his daughter to run the operations of the “Playboy” empire?
Let’s be honest here. It’s exceedingly difficult for the average male to ignore the bodies of women who put them out there for observation. So . . . is it the power a woman wields with her body to manipulate and stimulate? Is it the affirmation of the mouth-open gawking? Is it who she perceives herself to be—a vamp, a siren, a woman who has no value other than her gorgeous curves?
The spiritual aspects of a person’s character cannot be ignored, nor can the history of an individual’s life experiences. We know we’re born at a disadvantage—sinful from the git-go. Our tendencies, leanings, and desires point us to destructive behaviors. Our upbringing either supplies a noble substitute or it simply reinforces the basest conduct. The horrors of molestation, rape, and other atrocities reside behind a lot of sexual acting out in young people and adults. There’s always more to people than meets the physical eyes. That’s why I had to ask myself why.
After the revulsion to the picture, the sadness came. The reminder of the choices available to each of us. The eternal questions. The physical components of a life versus the spiritual applications which threaten where they will spend that forever time.
Don’t ya wonder sometimes what happened?
Jesus, you hung on the Cross to supply and insure forgiveness and redemption. You even asked the Father to forgive those who spewed spittle and insults and profanities at you while you hung there on their behalf. I pray you would reach these two before their final breath sends them to an eternal destination neither of them is counting on. Only you can save them from such everlasting destruction. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
*Please don’t forget to pray for Kristy Dykes.*
P.S. Please understand this one thing: I am no better than Pamela Anderson or Hugh Hefner. The difference between us is that I accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ so that my ugly and despicable sinfulness could be covered by His pure cleansing Blood. To participate in the chosen lifestyles of these two individuals requires some serious depravity. The moral compass has been jammed and then shattered on a concrete floor. What they have chosen for themselves is neither sexy nor glamorous. It is one form of perversion. Make no mistake--the demons have made consistent contributions to their existences.