“From the Hart” Devotional for April 18, 2024

“Mean Girls”
by Julie Hart, Director of Connectional Ministries

The words that you say will either acquit you or condemn you.
Matthew 12:37

Last weekend, I was able to go see the production of “Mean Girls” starring two of our talented Desert Spring kids, Jay and Eliza Harper. If you have never seen the movie or production, you can probably guess what it’s about. The new girl, Cady, moves to a new town and attends a new high school. Completely out of her element, she tries hard to fit in but she is not warmly welcomed. There is a trio of mean girls known as the “plastics” that end up inviting her into their clique. As time goes on, she becomes more and more like them. She goes from being the sweet, picked on new girl of the school to one of the mean girls picking on others.

How does she transform from good to evil so quickly? So easily? Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to this part of us when he said “And in every one of us, there’s a war going on…Every time you set out to be kind and say nice things about people, something is pulling on you to be jealous and envious and to spread evil gossip about them…There’s a tension at the heart of human nature.” In Romans 7:15, we read these words from Paul describing this same struggle: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” Most of us can relate to this feeling.
By the end of the show, the girls realize that they are getting it all wrong and that judging others doesn’t make them better than the rest. One of the “mean girls” concludes that “Calling somebody else fat won’t make you any skinnier. Calling someone stupid doesn’t make you any smarter.” They decide it’s time to break the cycle. The lesson of breaking the cycle in “Mean Girls” is one that can also be found in the Bible. 1 Peter 3:9 says: Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

Just a few “Mean Girl” inspired questions to think about:

Jealousy and insecurity do not bring out the best in any of us. When is a time that your jealousy caused you to do or say something that you weren’t proud of?

Hypolepsis is derived from Greek which means “taking up” perceptions or thoughts to make a value judgment about something. Sometimes we make judgments based on our feelings, with little concern for the facts. When is a time that you judged someone based on your perceptions and later discovered that you were wrong?

In the show, the mean girls have a “burn book” filled with rumors and putdowns about all of the other students in the school. When have you felt like your name was written in the “burn book” and that you were unfairly criticized?

In “Mean Girls”, the teenagers discover that friendship and authenticity are more important than status and popularity. In what ways have you learned to be true to yourself?

When the characters of this show realize that they had gotten it wrong, they had the courage to apologize. Where have you gotten it wrong lately and who might you owe an apology to?

Dear God,
I come to you knowing that there is both good and bad in each of us and that the struggle to do the right thing exists in me each day. Guide me to choose kindness over popularity, acceptance, or opportunities on this day. Help me to be true to who I am and true to who you created me to be. And, when I inevitably get it wrong, let me recognize my errors and prompt me to apologize for my actions. I pray that my words will reflect your Word living inside of me.
Amen.