Self Punishment?
My wife and I watched the movie Seven Pounds last night. The movie was a little long as I was eager to put all the pieces together and try to understand the story behind the story. In the end, it all came together for the most part, but it was severely upsetting to me.
The main character in the movie was living with this guilt of causing a car crash that ended 7 people’s lives including his newly engaged fiancé. For the next year he tried to pay back by offering extreme help to those who desperately needed it as well as to only those who he determined deserved it. Ultimately his plan included suicide in order to donate his much needed organs. The suicide sent me over the edge. It was as though the suicide was this glorified self sacrifice for the greater good of humanity and was justified given his pursuit for correct that which he made wrong.
But I realize that so many people live their lives in the same belief system.
- When we feel guilt, we must punish ourselves.
- Punishing ourselves will take away our guilt and sin.
- Getting rid of the guilt is the driving force.
- We determine when our self punishment is enough.
This whole thing breathes the belief system that we are basically gods who are able to judge our sins, issue the punishment for the crime, and bring restoration to our souls. However, this alone is up to God Almighty Himself, not ours. There’s a difference between what the bible calls self-discipline and what others have created as a self-imposed penance.
“Self Punishment?”