Exorcising Pride

I just finished watching a movie called, The Rite.  I’m pretty sure it would be classified as horror, which is absolutely not my regular genre, but since Anthony Hopkins was the star, I decided to give it a go.  It is about a young man who goes to seminary as an alternative to becoming a mortician.  His future is dictated by his dad’s willingness to pay for only those two options.  The entire movie is basically about his faith struggles.  He ends up being connected with an older priest, Hopkins, who is an exorcist. 

I won’t go in to the entire story, though surprisingly, I liked the movie.  But the message of the movie is, I think, a really good one.  Hopkins does major battle against satan through some fairly unorthodox exorcism methods.  But over the course of his career, the devil manages to creep in anyway.  Ultimately, and in the nick of time, the young priest comes to terms with his own faith and “saves” Hopkins by exorcising satan from him.

So.  What’s the point?  I found it interesting that the very people who were supposed to be the authorities on fighting evil, ultimately had struggles of their own.  For the older priest, pride seemed to be a contributing factor.  For the younger, faith. 

I think sometimes we get so caught up in pointing out and noticing everyone else’s faults that we fail to see our own.  Our pride and judgment of others blinds us to what is going on in ourselves.  The perfect storm developed from pride that “goes before a fall,” and working on someone else’s splinter without noticing our own blinding plank.

I’ve experienced a lot of judgment in the last couple of years and know how painful it can be.  It has caused me to look at other people and their struggles differently.  I think that piece is a good lesson for me.  But this movie was a little reminder for me when I find myself getting comfortable or being smug.  I am so far from having it all together.  I think kindness, love, and compassion are always good choices.