Skip to main content

OVERBOARD


Real life couple Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell light up the screen in "Overboard (1987).  Joanna Stayton (Goldie Hawn) is an idle rich woman who fell overboard her luxury yacht just to be rescued by a passing garbage barge. The comedy of the movie “Overboard” is that of error and the irony of unexpected change. Within a twinkle of an eye, Joanna went from being on the deck of a posh yacht to being on the deck of a garbage barge. She went from being Joanna, an idle rich wife, to being Annie, the assumed wife of a carpenter [Kurt Russell] and the "mother" of four unruly boys. Though hilarious in the movie, this is the type of change that we neither expect nor even think about. The story of Joanna is a comedy that will make anyone laugh, but the story of Jonah on the other hand is not a comedy to make anyone laugh. It is the tragedy of a disobedient prophet who changed the direction of God for his life with his own direction just to end up at a destination he had not planned to go. Unlike the Hollywood film “Overboard” (the story of Joanna), the Biblical story of the prophet Jonah has no luxury yachts but a merchant ship sailing to Tarshish, and there are no garbage barges but a certain "great fish" prepared by God to swallow up Jonah [Jonah 1: 1 – 15]. And if the story of Jonah were to be a comedy, it would be nothing more than a comedy of error. Yet, changing the direction of God for one's life with one's own direction is still nothing to laugh about.
Changing the direction of God with our own direction will always take us to places we never intended to go. Jonah is a story that represents self – determination and outright disobedience. In the words of the late Adrian Rogers, “Sin will always take you further than you wanted to go and will take you to a place you never intended to go.” In the story of Jonah, the sailors followed all the rules of sailing. One rule, even in ancient merchant marine, is for a captain to “jettison his cargo to save the lives of his sailors”. But just as throwing the wrong cargo overboard could not bring peace and calm to Jonah’s stormy seas, getting rid of the wrong things will never bring peace and calm to a life troubled by sin until sin is finally thrown overboard [Jonah 1: 5]. 
Jonah had gone below deck and was lying there sound asleep” undisturbed by the tempest outside. Sometimes, the root of sin is not on an open deck where it could be easily thrown overboard like cargo on a merchant ship, but deeply situated below deck like Jonah in a sound sleep. And just like in Jonah’s case, until sin is picked up below deck and thrown into the sea, the sea is just going to get rougher and wilder. The only difference is that sin never sleeps like Jonah did. And sometimes it is not only the sinner that suffers but those around him suffer as well. If you are finding it difficult to reach your destination, you could be going in the wrong direction or you could be going in the right direction but with a Jonah on board your ship. Reluctantly, sailors “took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm” [v. 15]. For the sailors, throwing Jonah overboard meant getting to Tarshish safely, even at the expense of the loss of their cargo. But for Jonah, being thrown overboard meant a second chance at changing his own direction to following God’s direction [Jonah 3: 1 - 10]. Yet let us keep in mind that second chances are always exceptions and are never the rule. Then what is the connection between Gary Marshall's "Overboard" and the story of Jonah? It is in the irony of change. A sudden change in direction that neither character had expected. The story of Joanna is a comedy but the story of Jonah is not. Even if it were to be a comedy it would be nothing but a comedy of errors. The error of a preacher going from riding on a merchant ship to riding in the belly of a fish (that could be funny in a children's version of course). The error of one preacher of repentance becoming exceedingly angry at the fruit of his own preaching. And that is no laughing matter. "Overboard" is a love story. And to say the least that the story of Jonah is a love story cannot be disputed. It happens to be one of those unforgettable love stories in the Bible. Check this out. The Lord replied, "This plant grew up overnight and died overnight. You didn't plant it or make it grow. Yet you feel sorry for this plant. Shouldn't I feel sorry for this important city, Nineveh? It has more than 120,000 people in it as well as many animals. These people couldn't tell their right hand from their left" [Jonah 4: 10, 11]. That is a love story without questions. And I pray that you discover life the way God intends.

Comments

In the end Anne marries the carpenter. How symbolic. I saw this movie but never saw the connection. See how God's people enrich each other and the world. Thank you my Brother. A blesses post.
Covnitkepr1 said…
I’ve been following and enjoying your blog for a while now and would like to invite you to visit and perhaps follow me back. Sorry I took so long for the invitation
Sonja said…
I really enjoy reading your blogs, there is a strong message in all of the blogs that I have read. They teach life lessons for all of God's children. I pray that you will continue to bless, and share your words of wisdom with us. Thank you my Brother.
A comedy of errors ...So much of life is like that! Either we are going the wrong way or we are going the right way with a Jonah (sin) hanging on to us... or we are hanging on to it. The other possibility is we are trying to drag people with us who don't want to go.

We hold up our own progress waiting for our family and/or friends to come along. Sometimes you have to go alone. Actually most times you have to go alone and with out the help or approval of our social circle. The Bible says save yourself from this generation!

Popular posts from this blog

THE MIRROR OF TRUE TRANSFORMATION

      We are used to looking at life l as if we are looking in the mirror. What we often see in the mirror is not reality but rather a reflection of it. The mirror does not reflect the true self, but only reflects what it sees. And when you do not like what you see then you begin to distort your reflected self. Then the reflection gradually becomes a distortion of your true self.         The above phenomenon is known as self-delusion. Self-delusion does not bring true transformation. It actually takes you farther away from it. It is hard to achieve true transformation if you are living in the state of self-delusion.         It should become clearer why the makeup and cosmetic surgery industry is a multi billion dollar industry and still climbing.  You do not have to look at it too hard to notice that many of our popularized celebrity cosmetic transformations still have situations in their lives that leave them untransformed....

The Tree of Life

We read about two significant trees in the Genesis description of the environmental splendor of Eden [Genesis 2: 8-17]. One is called “the tree of life” and the other is “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”. In the first instance of how knowledge could determine the distance between God and man, God’s instruction to Adam and Eve included a prohibition from touching or eating fruits from “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”. The instruction was in the form of a very strong and clear imperative - DON’T TOUCH! DON’T EAT! What followed was Satan’s first score in getting man to disobey the word of God in one process of distortion and guided deception. In one twinkle of disobedience and clear violation of God’s prohibition, Eve picked the fruit from the forbidden tree and somehow convinced Adam to do the same. And in a moment of justice, the first spiritual distance between God and man was established. The first line of spiritual demarcation between God and man was drawn, at ...

THE COLOR OF MONEY

Paul Newman reprises the unforgettable role of Fast Eddie Felson from The Hustler (1961)in The Color of Money (1986). Twenty-five - years after “The Hustler,” Fast Eddie, now retired from the pool–room hustling, finds inspiration for a comeback and a grand finale in an immensely talented younger protégé played by Tom Cruise. The connection between the title and the plot is in Fast Eddie's interpretation of the traditional green cloth (baize) of a pool table. To Eddie, the sight of the green baize of a pool table is always an opportunity to make money. How one sees money doesn’t really begin in the eyes but in the heart and the way a person sees money really depends on the lens the person is looking through. If he is looking through the lens of society he would see money as a simple means of meeting his own personal needs and possibly sharing with others if there is a little bit left over after he had met his own needs. At least it is his own money and he could do an...