Before the world was introduced to the movie Frozen, and before parents around the world hated Disney for mesmerizing their children with that film, during the summer of 2010, Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment presented us with another movie and a whole different set of animated characters, who also have yet to lose their relevance.
The movie Despicable Me, and its franchise, detail the adventures of former villain named Gru, played by Steve Carell and his group of adorable yellow overall-wearing Minions. In the latest entry in the franchise, Despicable Me 3, Gru finds himself as an agent for the Anti-Villain League, trying to take down Balthazar Bratt, a former 1980s child-star dead-set on revenge, played by one of the creators of South Park, Trey Parker.
Parker’s character, Balthazar Bratt, in his mind had every right to be angry and to seek revenge against those who hurt him. Though he was a child-star in the 80s, he saw himself as having genuine talent and thus was forever bitter against Hollywood, for casting him out just because he got older and started growing zits, one of the unfortunate symptoms of puberty.
So, in a crucial moment in the film, SPOILER ALERT, Balthazar Bratt decides to make and inhabit a life-size robot and return to Hollywood, only to wreak havoc and bring destruction to everyone who did not accept him.
It would be no surprise to you, SPOILER ALERT, that Gru , his wife Lucy, and The Minions along with Gru’s recently discovered brother Dru, save the day and leave Balthazar defeated. When the credits roll and you reminisce about the funny parts, mostly scenes involving The Minions, you leave the theater feeling satisfied.
While there may not be comical super-villains roaming around today, little tiny yellow creatures, or ridiculous world-ending plots on the daily news, there is one issue from Despicable Me 3 that is bound to reoccur in not only your, but all of our lives.
Rejection. In some way or another, we will all get rejected: from friends, from family members, from job opportunities, and from the world as a whole.
Christian rapper Lecrae has a widely known quote in which he says…
“If you live for people’s acceptance, you’ll die from their rejection.”
This is clearly seen in Balthazar Bratt in Despicable Me 3. He holds on to hurt and pain for over thirty years, just until he feels he can find a way to break free.
The truth is though, whether we are movie characters or just the everyday people we are, we will never be able to get over being rejected on our own. Yet, there is Someone who can help us, Jesus, who happened to speak about this very subject, a little over 2,000 years ago.
Before he gave his Sermon on the Mount, in his speaking of the Beatitudes, Jesus had this to say…
Matthew 5:11 NIV
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
In moments of persecution, in moments of rejection, we can make up reasons galore to be not only angry at the ones who hurt us, but to feel deeply ashamed of ourselves. I definitely retreat to feelings of bitterness, anger, and self-contempt most every single time someone down-talks to me or makes me feel stupid.
Yet, we should take comfort in the fact and truth that Jesus, took the weight of every insult, He endured persecution, and stood bearing every sin and in the midst of shame, so that WE WOULD NOT HAVE TO!
We don’t have to hold on to anger. We don’t have to hide behind rejection, fear, or any sin under the sun. Jesus paid it all, so that we could have abundant life and eternal salvation, no matter what job we have, or where we may call home on this Earth.
Such truth should lead us to worship, to dance in adoration of our King. If you dance though, don’t wear tight purple 80s clothes or shoulder pads. Some things should just stay in the movies.
Until Next Time,
Jacobo
The Adventures of A Warrior 