Villains

With the influx of comic book movies in theatres over the last couple of years, I think we have all become familiar with the concept of a villain. In a lot of productions and epics, there tends to be at least two classes of characters. The protagonists that we love to see succeed, and the antagonists that we love to hate. It's almost formulaic at times the way, heroes and villains are portrayed that one does not even have to try to identify who is playing which role. 

What makes a villain, villainous? There's always something that makes us dislikes the despicable. One of the first depictions of a villain, that I remember would probably be Scar from The Lion King. What made Scar the bad guy, was his hand in the death of Mufasa. The villain of the story is the one who brings suffering unto others, whether it's murder, theft, or betrayal. The commonality of it all is their ability to breakout hearts in someway or another. 

When one does get to dig deeper into the reasons, as to why the villain is the way they are. Things start to get a bit grey. We see that the thief stole because he lacked deeply. The killer was acting out of vengeance, because of justice he never received. The actions themselves can never truly be justified, but what leads to them at times is tragic on the side of the perpetrator. It leads me to question, what heinous acts I could commit, given a chain of unfortunate events befalling me. 

Once a person is tagged as being a villain, it's almost as though that's all there is to them. Every good thing that they have ever done, is immediately cancelled by everything bad they are remembered for. When word spreads of your villainy, even first impressions are spoiled. In a lot cases, because of ignorance, we never get to search to see why a person is being vilified. It's more convenient to place a label, than to process things and try to understand people. Sometimes we breed cultures that lead us to allows assume the worst of a person. 

Countering the culture, when I look at scripture it says, 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

Matthew 5:43‭-‬44 ESV

Very naturally, it may seem right to hospitable to those we find amiable, and to be hostile to those whom we have animosity. Who knows?, What if an act of kindness towards those deemed as being terrible, could be the very first spark that leads to their redemption. Maybe even, an act of unkindness could be the last nail in the coffin that sends  a poor soul into their fall from grace. 

It's a process, I've been trying to unlearn to prejudice against people that I've been informed about in an unflattering light. At the end of it I like to think about Shylock from The Merchant Of Venice. His speech in the third act, first scene, we all are human beings.Our actions and words have ripple effects across people's lives, and both positive and the fruits are either devastating, or constructive.The world needs more love to go around, especially for those that seem like they don't deserve it.