Ok, I confess. I watched the Blind Side with my wife on her birthday. Even though it’s a “chic flick” I figured it’s still about football so it’s ok right? Well, either way, we ended up watching the film that topped the charts and captured the hearts and imaginations of so many people.
For those of you who have no idea what the Blind Side is all about, it’s a movie that tells the story of a family, who under the influence of the mother, takes in a young man, Michael Oher who becomes a professional football player. Oher was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in 2009 and currently plays for them.
The title, “The Blind Side” comes from the position that Oher plays. A left offensive tackle’s primary job is to protect the quarterback’s back or his “blind side”. When executing a pass, the quarterback’s attention is down field with receivers, not at his back which is where outside linebackers and defensive ends come head hunting for him. This is such an important position to fill that left offensive tackles tend to be, next to the quarterback they protect, the highest paid players on a team. (think Walter Jones) They are a sort of an insurance policy if you will.
While I actually enjoyed the movie, (don’t tell anyone) I found myself being frustrated by the obvious blind side of the “Blind Side.” Michael Oher was functionally homeless in the movie before he meets the family that takes him in. Through the course of the movie, you learn that his birth mother has a drug addiction, which causes her to chronically be in and out of relationships, and low-income housing. She has upwards of 10 children, most of whom come from different fathers.
On the other hand, the woman who takes Oher in is a stark contrast in character. She provides him with food, clothing, an education, and love. She is the catalyst behind his transformation. While one woman abandons him, the other truly “mothers” him. And that is something to be celebrated. But do you see the blind side?
As much as the story celebrates the redemptive work of one woman, it leaves a gaping void of masculinity. We know that Oher’s mother was an addict, but where was his dad? Where were all of the men who were in his mother’s life? They manipulated her, abused her, and treated her like a piece of meat. It’s not simply Oher’s biological mother who is to blame for the situation. Ultimately, it is his father’s!
But it doesn’t stop there. The new family that Oher finds himself a part of is one with almost no male leadership. I remember a scene in particular, which left me frustrated. It takes place at a dinner table. Instead of the husband loving and serving his family by praying over them, he hands this responsibility off to his wife. I am certainly not against women praying. That’s not the issue. The issue is men serving and loving their families by providing a covering of prayer when they come together to enjoy the meal that God’s grace has provided. Throughout the entire movie, the husband is passive and disengaged with the most important aspects of family life. The story is as much about the triumph of a wonderful and loving mother as it is about the cultural trend of men who fail to lovingly lead and serve their families.
I was going to write about this last week but for whatever reason, felt like it needed to wait. I now think I know why it had to wait. God wanted me to see and also share what’s right, not just what’s wrong.
On Easter Sunday, four people were baptized at Coram Deo Church. Her father baptized a daughter and two women were baptized by their husbands. One of those husbands was also baptized on Easter. He then in turn, baptized his wife. Could anything be more beautiful? Could anything be more powerful? Men, that had loving lead their families were now getting to enjoy the great blessing and honor of baptizing the women that God created them to care for.
To be honest, these are the sweetest times in my life and ministry. When a man baptizes his son, his daughter, or especially his own wife, it is a sign that a culture is being transformed. The gates of hell are being beaten to a bloody pulp. The curse is being overthrown. The blind side of our culture is being protected by men who will sacrifice themselves to make sure that neither sin, death, nor satan will have access to the ones God has entrusted to them. Praise God for our men who protected the blind side on Easter!
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