Tombstone with Paul McDonald and Britt Mooney
Coming up on the Men at the Movies podcast, Britt and I celebrate the 30th anniversary of Tombstone. This story takes place in a time of chaos and lawlessness, but through that context we discover the right reasons to fight, who our true enemy is, and the power of having the right friends beside us. I’m your huckleberry—join us as we discover God’s truth in this movie.
Quotes
Life puts us in a position where we have to fight for people we care about..
We can be a person who takes advantage of the chaos, promotes the chaos, or fights the chaos.
The opportunist eventually becomes the monster.
People come alive with purpose.
The enemy doesn’t let you live in the middle.
If you don’t get involved, you become the monster.
Even when you’re fighting the right fight, you come face-to-face with your own inadequacy and your own evil.
The chaos illuminates who we are, and who we are becoming.
Your greatest satisfaction is in fighting for others.
The first battle is in my heart.
We all want guy friends who know our faults and love us anyway.
All the stuff Wyatt was known for was the stuff he did after he tried to quit.
Themes
Right reasons: Why we engage in battle/warfare. How Wyatt gets drawn into the battle. He starts the movie by using his gifts and abilities in service to himself. He is a man who has lost heart fighting for what’s right.
Right enemies: Who we are really fighting is who we might become. The right enemy is the one within my heart.
Right allies: Who we need around us to prevent us going to the downside. We are more complete when we have friends around us.
Contrast of Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and Johnny Ringo
Each one is competent and dangerous
Wyatt—opportunist. takes advantage of the chaos/lawlessness. Uses it for his own advantage. Proceeding down this path will turn him into the villain. Feels like he’s earned the right to check out, pursue comfort. Trying to compromise with the cowboys. Wyatt kept Doc from becoming Ringo.
Johnny Ringo—the villain, works with the chaos, encourages lawlessness. The enemy won’t let you live in the middle. He is who Wyatt could become.
Doc Holliday—not perfect, could be a bad guy, but a friend closer than a brother. Wyatt’s fight is his fight. He was a rough dude. Wyatt would not survive without Doc. No matter where Wyatt was, Doc was there. Not hero worship, Doc calls Wyatt on his crap. He knows the worst of Wyatt, and sticks around anyway.
Resources
“But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone. For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness.” - Psalm 73:2-3 (NLT)
U2 “Peace on Earth”
And you become a monster
So the monster will not break you“Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” - Matthew 10:28 (NLT)
“For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” - Ephesians 6:12 (NLT)
“Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.” - Matthew 7:1-5 (MSG)
“Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!” - Matthew 6:22-23 (NLT)
“Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” - Proverbs 16:32 (ESV)
“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” - 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (NIV)
“Bosom Buddies: A Photo History of Male Affection” from Art of Manliness
Questions
What kind of person will you be in a time of chaos?
What was your favorite line from Tombstone?
What have you lost by fighting for what’s right?
What monster might you become?
What allies do you have that will stick around?
What friends do you have that you can commit to?
What would it be like to verbally affirm your commitment to your friends?
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.
Links: