Hot tea in hand, lavender candle gently (wimpily?) glowing beside me, it's time for a little book report! And what better book for a sleepy late winter afternoon than The Hunger Games?!
Yes, although the very title is disturbing and the movie posters had served to lodge the book firmly in my mind's "Gross" category along with Lord of the Flies and the Texas Chain Saw Massacre, never to be given even the courtesy of being read by me . . . a FRIEND recommended it as thought provoking and gripping! So I tried it out.
I finished it in less than two days. Gripping is right.
At first I was "gripped" simply by the need to get it over with so I could stop thinking about the disgusting plot, which centers around teenagers in a post-America society being forced to participate in a murder-to-the-last-survivor "game" on national TV intended to remind citizens of their domination by a central government. Twenty-four children, chosen at random from twelve districts (reminiscent of a village girl's being offered up to appease the mountain giant in folk tales), are treated like celebrities for a few days before being thrown into a natural setting where they will starve to death if they don't kill each other. Each "contestant" must employ whatever kind of skill they possess, offensive or survivalist, to the grisly enjoyment of their sadistic audience.
Our girl, Katniss, is a wood-wise hunter by trade, but finds that what will benefit her most in THIS game does not come naturally. Peeta, her fellow contestant and friend from District 12, unpretentiously declares himself to be in love with her on a televised interview, which throws an unprecedented twist into the Games. If she pretends to reciprocate, the two of them find they stand a chance of having the rules changed such that they may BOTH survive!
Here is where something else began to "grip" me. I began to see myself in our heroine. No, not in her deadly marksmanship with a bow and arrow as she hunts food (or a human predator), not in being able to sleep in trees or set traps or recover from deadly wounds while nearly thirsting to death tramping the forest; not even knowing how to heal her friend with certain leaves or avoid poisoning from others (I wish!). Let me explain.
Katniss likes Peeta. He's a nice guy, treated her well even back home. But she is not a relationship person, and she didn't like to owe anybody anything. Peeta had now saved her life several times and seemed to enjoy it, which didn't make sense to Katniss. Of course, she figured HE was doing it for the game's sake. Now, on real-time TV broadcast, every action and word is being watched by the people who control their fate. If she can convincingly act the part of being in love, she can win the sympathy of enough sponsors to send in supplies until they can finish. Her Games advisor keeps sending her wordless instruction on this. Of course, it's "all for the game".
Except for the boy. Somehow Peeta doesn't seem to need any instruction. The part comes naturally to him. It takes her a long time to realize it, but Peeta is genuinely in love with her.
Without giving away the Very Suspenseful Climax, but here's where I see myself in The Hunger Games. Have you ever behaved a bit more nicely than you were actually wishing to simply because people were watching? I have! Sometimes I catch myself giving a completely fabricated smile--I just lied with that gesture! I knew the "cameras were on me", so to speak, so I performed, just like Katniss, without any real affection behind it.
But what is really scary is that I know I have done that with my God too! I grew up with a pretty good knowledge of God's "omnipresence". I knew He was always with me, knew everything I was doing--so I tried to do it really really really well. I even convinced myself that I was doing a pretty good job of pleasing God. Just like Katniss even kissing the boy . . . but all just to get props from her audience! How many times have we done church service, "ministry", worship or giving just because we know God is watching and we want to get on His good side?
What He wants from us is what Peeta wanted from Katniss: her love! Romans 12:9 says to "let love be GENUINE". I am so grateful that God has shown me how I can really love Him, because He first loved me. I didn't earn one bit of it, so I can stop stressing about whether I've done enough to get Him to love me now, and just respond with joy to HIS wonderful love for me! And if I don't feel loving at some point, I don't need to pretend anything, but I can be honest with Him and tell Him the problem. It's usually mine anyway, and He's the only one who can fix it.
He just fixed one this morning for me, as a matter of fact. :) When I got honest with Him about the junk I was feeling, He showed me why it was, and pointed out a root of envy in my heart, which He then cleaned up as I repented of it (who would want to live with that anyway?), and it cleared the air between us! Then I could respond to His love again with thankfulness.
If you think you have to keep up appearances or God will get mad at you, you're only hurting yourself, and not fooling God anyway. :) May our love be genuine and from a sincere heart, which is a gift only God can give us. He promised to give His people "hearts of flesh and remove their hearts of stone" (Ezekiel 11:19). Our hearts may be like Katniss', not really caring for our Lord who loves us and gave everything for us, using Him just to try and avoid hellfire . . . But the miracle of regeneration is that GOD gives us new hearts which can race for Him, riveting our eyes on Him, sensitizing our bodies and our entire souls to the pulse of the universe which cries JESUS, JESUS, JESUS!
Aaand . . . I'm still wondering what happens when they get back to District 12 . . .
Yes, although the very title is disturbing and the movie posters had served to lodge the book firmly in my mind's "Gross" category along with Lord of the Flies and the Texas Chain Saw Massacre, never to be given even the courtesy of being read by me . . . a FRIEND recommended it as thought provoking and gripping! So I tried it out.
I finished it in less than two days. Gripping is right.
At first I was "gripped" simply by the need to get it over with so I could stop thinking about the disgusting plot, which centers around teenagers in a post-America society being forced to participate in a murder-to-the-last-survivor "game" on national TV intended to remind citizens of their domination by a central government. Twenty-four children, chosen at random from twelve districts (reminiscent of a village girl's being offered up to appease the mountain giant in folk tales), are treated like celebrities for a few days before being thrown into a natural setting where they will starve to death if they don't kill each other. Each "contestant" must employ whatever kind of skill they possess, offensive or survivalist, to the grisly enjoyment of their sadistic audience.
Our girl, Katniss, is a wood-wise hunter by trade, but finds that what will benefit her most in THIS game does not come naturally. Peeta, her fellow contestant and friend from District 12, unpretentiously declares himself to be in love with her on a televised interview, which throws an unprecedented twist into the Games. If she pretends to reciprocate, the two of them find they stand a chance of having the rules changed such that they may BOTH survive!
Here is where something else began to "grip" me. I began to see myself in our heroine. No, not in her deadly marksmanship with a bow and arrow as she hunts food (or a human predator), not in being able to sleep in trees or set traps or recover from deadly wounds while nearly thirsting to death tramping the forest; not even knowing how to heal her friend with certain leaves or avoid poisoning from others (I wish!). Let me explain.
Katniss likes Peeta. He's a nice guy, treated her well even back home. But she is not a relationship person, and she didn't like to owe anybody anything. Peeta had now saved her life several times and seemed to enjoy it, which didn't make sense to Katniss. Of course, she figured HE was doing it for the game's sake. Now, on real-time TV broadcast, every action and word is being watched by the people who control their fate. If she can convincingly act the part of being in love, she can win the sympathy of enough sponsors to send in supplies until they can finish. Her Games advisor keeps sending her wordless instruction on this. Of course, it's "all for the game".
Except for the boy. Somehow Peeta doesn't seem to need any instruction. The part comes naturally to him. It takes her a long time to realize it, but Peeta is genuinely in love with her.
Without giving away the Very Suspenseful Climax, but here's where I see myself in The Hunger Games. Have you ever behaved a bit more nicely than you were actually wishing to simply because people were watching? I have! Sometimes I catch myself giving a completely fabricated smile--I just lied with that gesture! I knew the "cameras were on me", so to speak, so I performed, just like Katniss, without any real affection behind it.
But what is really scary is that I know I have done that with my God too! I grew up with a pretty good knowledge of God's "omnipresence". I knew He was always with me, knew everything I was doing--so I tried to do it really really really well. I even convinced myself that I was doing a pretty good job of pleasing God. Just like Katniss even kissing the boy . . . but all just to get props from her audience! How many times have we done church service, "ministry", worship or giving just because we know God is watching and we want to get on His good side?
What He wants from us is what Peeta wanted from Katniss: her love! Romans 12:9 says to "let love be GENUINE". I am so grateful that God has shown me how I can really love Him, because He first loved me. I didn't earn one bit of it, so I can stop stressing about whether I've done enough to get Him to love me now, and just respond with joy to HIS wonderful love for me! And if I don't feel loving at some point, I don't need to pretend anything, but I can be honest with Him and tell Him the problem. It's usually mine anyway, and He's the only one who can fix it.
He just fixed one this morning for me, as a matter of fact. :) When I got honest with Him about the junk I was feeling, He showed me why it was, and pointed out a root of envy in my heart, which He then cleaned up as I repented of it (who would want to live with that anyway?), and it cleared the air between us! Then I could respond to His love again with thankfulness.
If you think you have to keep up appearances or God will get mad at you, you're only hurting yourself, and not fooling God anyway. :) May our love be genuine and from a sincere heart, which is a gift only God can give us. He promised to give His people "hearts of flesh and remove their hearts of stone" (Ezekiel 11:19). Our hearts may be like Katniss', not really caring for our Lord who loves us and gave everything for us, using Him just to try and avoid hellfire . . . But the miracle of regeneration is that GOD gives us new hearts which can race for Him, riveting our eyes on Him, sensitizing our bodies and our entire souls to the pulse of the universe which cries JESUS, JESUS, JESUS!
Aaand . . . I'm still wondering what happens when they get back to District 12 . . .
