Seven Pounds

The title of this  tear-jerking Will Smith flick takes its meaning from an old saying that refers to individual favors, acts of kindness, etc to “…a pound of flesh…”.  In this movie, Will Smith’s character does 7 life-changing favors for 7 people.  Count ‘em up:  1) his brother, 2) Holly (the social worker), 3) Connie (mom w/2 kids), 4) Nicholas (little boy with cancer), 5) George (the hockey coach), 6) Ezra (the pianist), and 7) Emily (the female lead).  Seven people.  Seven favors.


In chapter 5, Tim (as Ben Thomas) checks up on the worthiness of, ironically enough, one Stewart Goodman.  Initially Tim interviews Stewart who appears to be an honorable & 'good man', just a poor manager of his own finances.  Upon further investigation, Tim finds that Stewart's goodness is in a worldly sense only as he interviews a poor Miss Inez and uncovers her apparent mistreatment.

Matthew 25:44-46 (The Message)

 ⁴⁴"Then those 'goats' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn't help?'
 ⁴⁵"He will answer them, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.'
 ⁴⁶"Then those 'goats' will be herded to their eternal doom, but the 'sheep' to their eternal reward."


In chapter 8, Tim comes calling on one Emily Posa, to interview her & to determine her worthiness of one of his gifts.  The conversation is a bit contrived & remarkably awkward but does bring to mind the question of what makes a person good or even if they should be considered as 'good' or not.  It should bring to mind by what standard we use when considering what or who is good or not.

Luke 18:18-27 (The Message)

 ¹⁸One day one of the local officials asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to deserve eternal life?" ^19-20Jesus said, "Why are you calling me good? No one is good—only God. You know the commandments, don't you? No illicit sex, no killing, no stealing, no lying, honor your father and mother."
 ²¹He said, "I've kept them all for as long as I can remember."
 ²²When Jesus heard that, he said, "Then there's only one thing left to do: Sell everything you own and give it away to the poor. You will have riches in heaven. Then come, follow me."
 ²³This was the last thing the official expected to hear. He was very rich and became terribly sad. He was holding on tight to a lot of things and not about to let them go.
 ^24-25Seeing his reaction, Jesus said, "Do you have any idea how difficult it is for people who have it all to enter God's kingdom? I'd say it's easier to thread a camel through a needle's eye than get a rich person into God's kingdom."
 ²⁶"Then who has any chance at all?" the others asked.
 ²⁷"No chance at all," Jesus said, "if you think you can pull it off by yourself. Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it."


In chapter 26 Tim's plan of his own personal redemption comes to light in the culmination of all his planning when faced w/the certainly long odds of Emily's survival.  While the portrayal of such self-sacrifice seems other-worldly, it unfortunately falls victim to so many other devised plans that center on self & our very commonly felt reluctance to rely on One much greater that is definitely needed to overcome such seemingly insurmountable debts of guilt and pride.  Our purpose & being comes straight from God himself and our ability to be lovers & imitators of Him & not our need to be or attempt to be Him.


1 Corinthians 13:1-7 (The Message)


 ¹ If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. ²If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. ^3-7If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.