Directing for the Divine Director
Learn from a human director who has followed the Divine Director to the T. The Excellence of Mel's Experience and Expertise is a lesson we can all benefit from spiritually:
If we play by the rules of God, then we have no fear of man's rules or opinions
"A few fish and loaves are not supposed to feed thousands, blind people stay blind and deaf people stay deaf, what I cannot see cannot exist, God's Truth cannot be heard in Hollywood. These and many other "rules" tell us how and what to think. Amid all of these man-made limits, Mel Gibson has reminded us that only sin is our limit and that sin was defeated and salvation won by The Son of God hanging on a Cross Who only played by God's rules."
After reading Martin Grove's Hollywood Reporter article listing the way Mel Gibson broke ten of Hollywood's Golden Rules of Movie Promotion and came out on top anyway, I realized that Mel's experiences and expertise in knowing what he was doing were nothing less than lessons to all of us about the way God gets things done.
Lesson #1.....Necessity May Be a Blessing
It seems that half of the decisions, which Mel Gibson made, were borne out of necessity. He had to put his own money into the project because nobody else would. He had to cut expenses by avoiding certain ad routes and strategies. He had to avoid big names to get his message across and likewise cut expenses. He had to use subtitles, graphic violence, strange languages, and maintain an R rating to get his message across as he wanted to. It becomes obvious that God Almighty will often put us in what seem to be corners with little options before us. If we keep our souls, hearts, minds, and eyes on God throughout these times and trust in His purpose and plan, the obstacles before us will disperse like the sea before the Israelites in the desert.
Lesson #2.....Place Trust in God and Not Man
Throughout his journey in getting this film made, Mel constantly opted to avoid compromising his mission and purpose by becoming indebted, financially and otherwise, to industry people and accepted industry norms. Instead of pre-screening widely or selectively in New York and Los Angeles, rather than using TV ads, press junkets, film festivals, promotional partners, and Wall Street money, Mel took his own path and fulfilled his vision his way on his terms and achieved a financial independence many times over what would have seemed possible going into the project.
Lesson #3.....Believe in Your Purpose and Ignore The Rabble
Throughout this process Mel was subjected to absurd attacks and hysteria yet he persevered and protected his mission and goal. Instead of letting himself get caught up in the trash of this world's dialogue, Mel kept himself at a higher level of purpose and reached his goals and beyond by doing so.
Lesson #4.....Stick to Truth and Integrity amid Lies, Spin, and Sin
Despite all of the slanders, hypocrisy, and political correct hype around him, Mel held fast to the Truth of his Faith and the integrity of his project. While others compromise themselves to the standards of this world or slap their work on soda cups, toys, or posters, Mel kept his mission at the level of respect and dignity which it deserved and demanded.
Lesson #5.....The Fish and Loaves is God's True Sequel
Most importantly, Mel's experience reminds us that God Almighty will bless our work and efforts many times over if we do that work and make those efforts to glorify Him and not ourselves, our wallets, or each other. Where our sweat and toil is done in the Name of God Almighty, there will be a multiplication of blessings far beyond the limits of man's understanding.
The miracle of multiplying the fish and loaves was not confined to the hills of Judea, but rather is reenacted in the Holy Sacrifice of The Mass and in each of us through our work in bringing the glory and honor owed to God Almighty. God cares little about the ways this world does things. His ways are much greater and more profound than anything some spin-doctor, publicity strategist, or financial advisor can comprehend. Let the trivial critics gripe and the seasoned pros disagree with what is done in the Name of God, for their cries mean little in the midst of His Majesty and Power!
Conclusion
People like Jesus Christ Himself, St. Francis, all of the saints, and Mel Gibson have shown us that playing by the rules of this world is a guarantee of losing in the game of God's purpose and mission for us. Given the distorted rules of this world's games, the only way to salvation is to think, and play "outside the box" which this world perceives as the right way to do things.
A few fish and loaves are not supposed to feed thousands, blind people stay blind and deaf people stay deaf, what I cannot see cannot exist, God's Truth cannot be heard in Hollywood. These and many other "rules" tell us how and what to think. Amid all of these man-made limits, Mel Gibson has reminded us that only sin is our limit and that sin was defeated and salvation won by The Son of God hanging on a Cross Who only played by God's rules.
Gabriel Garnica
Editor's Note: We are pleased to announce Gabriel Garnica will be contributing many articles in 2004. Heaven is once again under attack by those who would seek to ignore and overthrow God's majesty and authority. Gabriel Garnica, educator and attorney, will submit regular insights and commentaries to remind and help guide readers toward a deeper and more assertive faith. Touching on topics and issues ranging from personal faith, doctrine, education, scripture, the media, family life, morality, and values, Gabriel's notes will be music to traditional ears but unpleasant tones to those who have bought into the misguided notions so prevalent and spreading in today's Catholic world.
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