As a male, I’d like to play a tough guy who appears to want to just look out for himself, but turns out to do a great kindness.
That’s the sort of character that Humphrey Bogart often played. Casablanca is a key example, but I’ll focus on African Queen.
In reality, maybe I’m more like the character that Robert Morley played – a missionary who had limited success 😀. The thing is, all those countries that were tough spots for missionaries now have many more Christians, particularly evangelical Christians, than we have in Ireland and the UK. In fact, now they’re evangelizing us. I even recently met an Iranian spreading the gospel here in Limerick.
Anyway, through my life, from childhood, I’ve never wanted to come across as a “softie”. At the same time, I aspired to be good and to do good. And sometimes, it can be a soft option to act tough to gain credibility. An example is using bad language. I stopped that when I became an evangelical Christian when I was 18. It’s not the worst of things, but it’s a little like wearing a badge indicating that you’re not a “goody two shoes”. And “goody two shoes” isn’t always that good either. You could be a loyal citizen of a country that persecutes people and identify Jewish people for Nazis or whatever. In such a scenario, you’d much prefer to be a bit of a rebel.
Perhaps most men want to be like Humphrey Bogart. I think of Play It Again, Sam , the Woody Allen film that centers on Humphrey Bogart’s persona.
It’s a comedy about a neurotic film critic who seeks romantic advice from the imagined ghost of Bogart, heavily inspired by Casablanca. Maybe we all feel a little too much like the character that Woody Allen plays 😀.
But never mind. All God’s creatures have a place in the choir.
My Christian friends might not approve of me wanting to be Humphrey Bogart. Maybe I should have chosen one of two characters from the Amazing Grace film – William Wilberforce and John Newton. Or maybe I could have chosen Eric Liddell from Chariots of Fire.
Hibernia Gospel 