The Guardian with Paul McDonald and Dustin Oprea
Coming up on the Men at the Movies podcast, I talk with Dustin Oprea about The Guardian. We look at the main character, Ben, as someone we could become—an initiated man who allows his marriage to drown because he focuses on rescuing others. He doesn’t focus on how many people he saved, but is haunted by the ghosts of those he didn’t save. We see a man whose calling is motivated by fear, which causes him to hurt the people that matter most. Don’t let go, and let’s discover God’s truth in this movie.
Quotes
Anything that is powerful in this movie, there’s a layer deeper that borrows its power from the Greater Story God is writing.
We can be passionate and moving toward something that is a valiant thing, but our motivation hurts the people we love the most.
When your calling is motivated by the false self, it just becomes a pose that hurts the people that matter most.
So many men use their wives as life preserver and end up smothering and losing them.
I need to shift some things in my priorities and ask God to do some work in my heart so I can move toward the people under my roof entrusted to my care, because if that isn’t going well, then nothing else is going to go well.
How you treat your heart reflects how you will treat other’s hearts.
Themes
Ben
uninitiated man who smothers his wife
Believes he can/should rescue everyone
The path that Jake could’ve followed
Focuses on how many he failed, not who many he rescued
Driven by fear
Turns to where he’s comfortable, saves drowning people when he can’t save his marriage
Resources
Becoming a King: The Path to Restoring the Heart of a Man by Morgan Snyder
Questions
Do you focus more on the losses, or the rescues?
What is motivating your gifting, your calling?
How does your resume differ from your eulogy?
What’s on your dash, the line between your birthday and death day?.
What is the kingdom that you have been given?
Who has been entrusted to your care?
How do you handle your own heart?
What needs to be removed so that you can put in good stuff?
More info
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Edited and mixed by Grayson Foster
Logo and episode templates by Ian Johnston
Audio quotes performed by Britt Mooney, Paul McDonald, and Tim Willard, taken from Epic (written by John Eldredge) and Song of Albion (written by Stephen Lawhead).
Southerly Change performed by Zane Dickinson, used under license from Shutterstock
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