Aside from the incredible scene that left half of American males shouting, "How you like them apples?!", there were plenty of other one-liners and zingers.
There were also some very deep truths and thought provoking challenges.
The main character, Will Hunting (played by Matt Damon), embodied a archetype of a person, and his story was a kind of a social argument of sorts.
I'm not going to rehash the whole movie and its plot. I recommend seeing it. If you do, you do. If you don't, we can still be friends.
That aside, there's one scene in particular that ran through my mind, randomly, just the other day.
In a session with Will's counselor (played by Robin Williams), the topic of manual labor pops up. In the conversation, Will (who is a mathematical genius, and possibly just a genius, in general), tries to make the argument that bricklaying is "noble work," and that if he were to choose to do nothing with his highly accelerated mind and just lay bricks for a living, that there'd be nothing wrong with that, and that it was his prerogative.
The argument by Williams' character was that Will was right, in a way. There's nothing wrong with laying bricks. It certainly is noble work. But it isn't for everybody, and Will would have been wasting his life by making that choice, because of his incredible gifting.
It's inspirational. Unfortunately, I think a lot of people see that scene and movie, as well as other similar pieces of art, and they are inspired in the wrong way.
Let me explain.
For someone like Will Hunting, laying bricks would have been an absolute tragedy. He had a tremendous gift that he simply was obligated to share with the world.
But, laying bricks is a gift, too. Some people aren't math wizards or great writers. But, they are great with their hands. They can take a car apart and put it back together again.
My point is that we need mechanics. We need builders. We need bricklayers.
I'm a writer. I'm a designer. I'm a musician. I'm a teacher. Those are things that encompass me and make me who I am. I couldn't deny that part of myself, because, simply, it isn't one of my sides, it's all of me.
My point is this: Embrace who you are. If you're a writer -- write. If you're a bricklayer -- lay bricks.
We can all be creative, and some would say we're never more like God than when we exhibit that trait. I'd say those people are on the right track, but they're not there, entirely.
I would argue that we are never more like God than when we are being who he made us and serving our purpose.
The Bible says that "God is good." We mistakenly take that to mean he is the opposite of bad. I.E. He is "awesome."
While that is not incorrect, it's also not what is meant when the Bible says God is good.
When the milk spoils, we say it has "gone bad." It no longer serves its purpose. If a product is "good," that means it's doing what it is supposed to be doing and is at 100% capacity.
God IS good. He embodies "being good." Nothing and no one could serve a purpose like God does. He is perfect. He IS perfection. There never was, never is and never will be a time when God is not exactly as He should be.
If you want to emulate God, be yourself. That might mean that you should get cracking on that book. It also might mean you need to get busy with that wall.
How you like them apples?
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