As we continue our series, "Movie Mondays," for July, we look back at the 2005 sports comedy Kicking and Screaming. This outrageous and hilarious film stars Will Ferrell and Robert Duvall, with Mike Ditka playing himself. The movie is about Phil Weston's (Ferrell) relationship with his highly competitive dad, Buck Weston (Duvall), and how their dynamic plays out when both of them coach opposing youth soccer teams. Phil Weston coaches his son's rag-tag team after his dad trades his own grandson to the lowly Tigers. Phil starts out as a calm, quiet, and humble coach taking over a losing team, but as the season goes along, the Tigers add two skilled soccer players that help them begin winning. Once they experience success, Phil becomes an entirely different person: loud, obnoxious, mean, crazy, and obsessed with winning at all costs. He gets addicted to coffee, which contributes to his erratic behavior. Spiraling out of control and focusing on all the wrong things, his actions are way out of character. Phil hits rock bottom when his son doesn't even want to show up to the championship game because he's tired of sitting on the bench. But his wife finally helps him understand the error of his ways, and Phil tells his son, "I screwed up, Sam. I just got caught up in everything. I really lost my way, I mean, I apologize." Phil also addresses his team: "I just want you guys to know that I know that I blew it. I completely blew it. And we should've just been having fun all along and honestly, I don't know what happened. And I owe you, I owe all of you an apology." Even though the Tigers go on to win the championship and beat his dad's team, what matters most are the lessons Phil learns along the way and the changes in his relationship with his dad and son. The takeaway from this movie I want to unpack today is how we, too, can "get caught up in everything" and "lose our way." We may not become lunatics like Will Ferrell's character, but we can easily focus on the wrong things, get caught up in ourselves, and become consumed, addicted, and obsessed with things that cause us to spiral out of control. Before we know it, we might do or say things out of character, negatively affecting those around us. We might need to snap out of it and get our priorities straight. In the movie, Phil Weston allows winning to be the most important thing at the expense of everything else, and he forgets why he's coaching. Thankfully, he finally listens, realizes how wrong he is, and is willing to apologize and change. As followers of Jesus, we must remain diligent about not losing our way, drifting away from His path, and getting so consumed with "winning" that we allow our love for God to become less important. Having people in our lives who call us out is crucial. By honestly examining our lives, we must willingly listen to what they tell us, along with the Holy Spirit's convictions, and admit when we screw up. Thankfully, God is merciful as 1 John 1:9 (AMP) tells us, "If we admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just , and will forgive our sins and cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness ." We must refocus our lives around Jesus and keep our minds thinking about the right things so we don't get obsessed with distractions, caught up in the world, and consumed with ourselves. Colossians 3:2 (AMP) implores us to "Set your mind and keep focused habitually on the things above , not on things that are on the earth ." Today, if we've gotten off track, preoccupied with the wrong things, let's repent, experience God's love and grace, and pray like Jonah in Jonah 2:7 (NLT): "As my life was slipping away, I remembered the LORD. And my earnest prayer went out to You in Your Holy Temple." I'm Bryce Johnson, and you can UNPACK that! PRAYER: Heavenly Father, forgive me for focusing on the wrong things and for the times I act and think in a way that doesn't align with You. Please help me not to get consumed with worldly things or get so caught up in myself and selfish ambitions. I pray I'll remain humble and committed to You. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.
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