Over the Hedge

We went and saw the movie Over the Hedge last Friday night. Good movie, simple plot. Basically, a group of woodland creatures wake up from hibernation to find that a subdivision has been built up around them. Lots of laughter was produced from several characters, namely Hammy, the squirrel, played by Steve Carrell.

The natural environment the creatures lived in was being encroached. They ventured out into the suburbia world through the "hedge" that surrounded the yards. What they saw there was unnatural to them. It was something that was feared at first, but then as they got used to the food that was available to them, they warmed up to it, and began to love it. Soon they could not get enough of it.

How much is that like us as Christians. Its almost as if when we wake up from our sleep in the morning, new things have risen up in the world to distract us from our goal in life. The world is offering new and grand things each and every day that keep us from living our lives like God would have us. Television shows that soften our morals, video games that teach us to kill, music that brainwashes us with depressing lyrics, and co-workers and friends who don't think God is important.

It gets harder and harder everyday to maintain your focus as a Christian, because we keep on coming up with things that replace God. Before you know it, your life is spent more over the hedge enjoying the world than it is reaching out to help the world.

What's even more are those who ride the hedge (or the fence) and try to live in both worlds. Giving God two or three hours of our time a week is not nearly enough, but we talk ourselves into believing it is.

God help us as we focus and commit our lives to you, and help us not focus on the pleasures of the world, but reaching out to the world instead.