Campfire: Third Evening

Tonight I've set up an outdoor projector screen so that we can enjoy a movie while we snack on our s'mores and some popcorn! I "previewed" the movie yesterday in anticipation of talking about it tonight. For all you Disney fans out there, we're watching Brother Bear!

(In lieu of posting the whole movie on here, which probably isn't allowed anyway, I'm just going to share a YouTube video I found of a scene that shows the joy of relationships. Enjoy!)



Humility and Relationships

Brother Bear has a lot to say about familial relationships - whether it's blood-related family or love-related family. The three human brothers (Kenai, Denahi, and Sitka) all have different strengths and were given different ways in which they specifically needed to grow in order to become men. In order for there to be harmony and unity between the brothers, appreciation of their differences and a dose of humility are necessary.

Humility, you ask?

Well, Sitka is the eldest, and as such he is supposed to help guide his brothers. But all leaders need to be humble, and it is often shown in their interactions that Sitka doesn't choose to act high and mighty, but instead listens to his brothers, laughs at their antics when they are harmless, and helps them without the need to make himself look good.

Denahi is supposed to be wise. At the beginning of the movie, he often isn't. He mercilessly teases Kenai at times, suggests that he blames Kenai when Sitka dies, and then decides to seek revenge. And yet, he learns from his journey. In order to reconcile with his brother and with his future, he has to be humble enough to realize his errors - and humble enough to share the story with his village later on in his life.

Kenai has a long way to go to learn how to love when the movie first starts. He scoffs at his totem - "the bear of love." He thinks that real men don't need love - they need something much more "manly" like "bravery," "strength," or "greatness." But throughout the movie he realizes how important and powerful love really is. Love, too, requires humility. Kenai had to be humble enough to accept responsibility for his actions, to be open with Koda about his sin, and to choose to sacrifice for another rather than seek his own way. (Jesus Himself gave us the ultimate example of humility in love: "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient to death, even the death on a cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him..." ~ Philippians 2:8-9a)

No matter what position we have been placed in within our family or in our other relationships, humility can help us draw closer to one another. But it all has to start with being humble before our Lord, as our relationship with God is the most important relationship we can have, and it determines how we choose to act in our relationships with others.

Easier said than done, right? This is something I really have to work on! But I hope that on this blog we can remind one another of the value of humility and encourage one another to strive to be more humble. It's a journey, and I'm so glad that you are willing to share it with me!

(You can read more of my thoughts on the movie Brother Bear HERE.)