Once upon a time there lived a handsome young man who wasn’t too excited about life. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a beautiful young woman drops into his life and changes everything.
He laughs again like he used to and she slowly captures his heart. They fall in love and live happily ever after! The end.
Oh wait – wrong ending.
They fall in love, and then he decides to commit suicide because his life isn’t worth living. The end.
Say hello to a modern romance.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, I’m referring to the new horror-film-disguised-as-a romantic-chick-flick, “Me Before You.”
In this new blockbuster hit, a young man who is paralyzed from the neck down decides that his life isn’t worth living. However, his new beautiful young female caretaker wins his heart and helps bring some joy back into his life. They fall in love and could have lived happily ever after.
But they didn’t.
To “spare” this young woman from having to marry a crippled man, he makes the “heroic” decision to end his life (via physician assisted suicide).
As the credits roll, the audience applauds this brave hero who selflessly sacrificed his life for his lover.
Oh wait…or did he?
Here at Girl Defined Ministries, we don’t often write “movie reviews” on specific films, but this movie could not be overlooked. With thousands of Christian girls flocking to this new hit, we just couldn’t keep our mouths shut.
When euthanasia (physician assisted suicide) is glamorized as heroism, we’re going to speak up.
As the buzz surrounding “Me Before You” grows stronger, I want to encourage you to think clearly about this new movie. It is nothing more than a strategic film designed to subtly normalize something that is terribly, terribly wrong.
Self-murder is wrong on every front and goes against every part of God’s plan and purpose for our lives. It is not heroic in the least. It is nothing more than humans deciding to play God. It is a self-centered and prideful choice.
As this warped romantic film gains popular acceptance, I urge you stay in tune with God’s truth.
Don’t allow this alluring and glamorized movie to warp your view of true (biblical) love and the value of every life (even a crippled’s).
Here are 6 essential truths to keep in mind:
1. Life is a gift from God.
We don’t exist because we chose to exist. We exist because the God of the universe chose to bring us into this world (Colossians 1:16). Life is a gift from God and we are recipients of that gift. As the “creation” we have no authority of our own to determine the day our life begins, or the day our life should end. That is God’s jurisdiction alone, and we should humbly accept His timing for the length of our life.
2. Happiness is not the goal of life.
Sadly, the American dream is centered around each person finding total “happiness” in life. We’re encouraged to pursue whatever we think will make us happy. Money? Sure. Success? Sure. Suicide? Sure. When personal happiness becomes our life goal, we will do whatever we think necessary to accomplish that goal…even committing suicide.
That is exactly what happened in Me Before You.
However, God’s word makes it so clear that happiness shouldn’t be our goal, but pursuing a life devoted to serving Christ should be our goal (Colossians 3:23-24). That is the only place where true and lasting joy are found (Psalm 16:11).
3. Circumstances don’t dictate our joy.
Circumstances can be really, really tough sometimes. Life is just plain hard! I can’t imagine how extremely difficult my life would be if I were crippled from the neck down. However, as hard and challenging as any circumstance may be, it doesn’t have to determine a person’s joy.
Yes – circumstances can make life really, really tough, but they only have as much power over our joy as we allow them to. Even crippled people can find joy, purpose, and satisfaction in life (i.e. Joni Eareckson Tada). The choice is ours.
4. Apart from God there is no hope.
This new movie is the perfect (and sad) example of what life is like without God. The young man in Me Before You did not profess to know Christ or have a personal relationship with Him. Without God, he was left with nothing but a crippled body and no greater purpose for living.
When a person doesn’t have true hope in Christ, they will be driven to despair. And that is exactly what happened in this movie. Suicide is the natural outcome of a person experiencing total and complete hopelessness.
5. Suicide is the epitome of self-centeredness and pride.
As romantic and heroic as this movie paints physician assisted suicide, it is nothing short of selfishness and pride to the max. A person who commits suicide is pridefully saying, “I know better for my life than God knows for me. I will choose when my life should end, and I don’t care what God thinks!” It is extremely self-centered because it is committed as an escape from life and from accountability to the living God.
6. Murder is a sin.
Period. Suicide is self-murder and that is a blatant and rebellious act against the Creator (Exodus 20:13).
No matter how you slice Me Before You, it’s a movie with a strong (but subtle) agenda to normalize something that is terribly wrong.
Not to mention it’s filled with profanity, mocking God’s name, sexual innuendoes, and promiscuous comments.
I pray that we, as Christian girls, stand strong against this cultural flow. I pray we speak truth against this warped, heroic message. I pray we humbly share the hope filled solution that Christ offers to anyone considering euthanasia as a “healthy” option.
Let’s discuss this below.
- What is your reaction to a movie like Me Before You?
- Why do you think euthanasia is being portrayed as something “normal” and healthy?
Photo Credit: Here