Over Thanksgiving break, Sue and I went to our local movie theatre to see the latest Twilight movie.  It was showing in the theatre's pub, so we sat in very comfortable chairs at a table while we munched on hot wings, jalapeno poppers and fries and enjoyed the movie.

At about the 75 minute point, the film suddenly broke and the screen went blank.  Jacob had just confronted Bella about the dangers of giving birth to a half vampire / half human child, and we were suddenly left hanging.  At first the staff told us they were trying to fix the problem.  Immediately, a grandmother at a table with three generations of family sitting together, began complaining very loudly.  Then, she ordered a drink from the waitress.  The waitress told her that there was no one left in the bar who was 21 or older, so no more alcohol could be served.  Now the grandma really started to let loose.

I admit, having all the adults leave the bar before the movie was over seems like poor business sense, but I wonder if it was intentional.  By intentionally closing the bar an hour before the end of the movie, they wouldn't serve drinks to anyone within an hour of their driving home.  Whether or not this was their reasoning, the theatre staff definitely didn't plan on the film breaking.

After 10 minutes, a staff person announced there was no fixing the film, and we would all get refunds.  Even in the refund line, ol' granny was complaining about the poorly run theatre.  I wanted to turn to her and say, "Do you realize there are 14 million AIDS orphans in sub-saharan Africa?  In comparison, what we're going through seems pretty small."  I didn't, of course.

Recently I've been studying that pesky portion of Matthew known as the Sermon on the Mount.  Today I reread the part where Jesus says, "Why do you try to take the splinter out of your neighbor's eye when all the while you have a plank in your own..."  Ouch.  So maybe Sue and I saw the film breaking as no big deal.  But what about the anger I feel toward God and myself when I perform poorly?  What about the evenings I spend more time watching reruns of "Everybody Loves Raymond" than I do studying Scripture and praying?  What about the times I forget to thank Sue for cooking another delicious supper?  What about how superior I feel compared to the cranky grandma?  Those are some pretty big planks.