I watched two films yesterday....which is about a 3000% increase in my normal frequency of film watching. Both were Westerns: Conagher and the Magnificent Seven, in that order.
As I was reflecting on these films, it struck me that both had similar themes, and that these themes are written in the souls of men -- which is what makes the films appealing to us, of course. I recognize these themes from the analysis of the soul of a man from a book I read last year, Wild at Heart, by John Eldridge.
The first theme is what I would call "fighting the good fight." In the case of Conagher, the lone cowboy courageously fought the rustlers, even at the cost of physical injury and risk of death. He fought for the sake of honor; because it was the right thing to do. In the Magnificent Seven, the hired gunfighters protected a small and nearly defenseless village against a force much larger than their own. It cost four of their lives. Their wages were just $20, a pittance for that kind of work, even in the 19th century.
The second theme was "winning the beauty." In both films, the "good guy" won the love of a woman.
I believe that as we men age, it is increasingly important to us to have spent our lives well, to have fought the good fight, win or lose. It is also important to us win a wife and to go through our lives with her at our side. I would say that these desires are built into us by the Creator, and it is a good thing to respond to them.
We can respond to these desires that God has placed in us at any age in life. If we are young it is possible to decide on fighting a good fight and doing so throughout life. If we are old, there are battles that even the infirm can fight. Even if we are married in a stale relationship, soured by years of failure and neglect, we can make the decision to fight for the beauty that exists in the heart of the woman beside us.
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