Ocean's Eleven: There is NONE Who are Righteous

  New Year’s Eve is a time to gather, reflect, celebrate, and look towards the future.  When I reflect I think back to a simpler time - growing up in Spotswood, New Jersey.  My parents would invite friends over on New Year’s Eve - lots of food, beverages, and laughter.  As the night would draw on the kids (myself included) would retreat to the family room to watch the movie:  It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World.  The movie had a large ensemble cast of famous actors and actresses of the day.  The premise?  A group of motorists witness a car crash in the California desert.  They all hear the dying man’s words about a stash of hidden money.  The motorists turn against each other in a race across the state to find it first.  What makes the movie so funny is how each person turns against the others.  It’s all about the individual…it’s all about greed.  Each character likable and lovable.   But each character filled with obsessive greed.

But what if everyone decided to work together?  That’s the question that is answered in the movie, Ocean’s Eleven.  Danny Ocean, recently released from jail, has concocted a plan to rob three Las Vegas casinos simultaneously.  But in order to accomplish the deed he will need help - lots of help.  So he recruits ten accomplices who each posses specialized skills that fit like puzzle pieces in order to accomplish the task.  As the plan comes together we are introduced to each character and the specialized skill.  And what you find is that they are likable - even lovable - just like the ensemble cast in It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.  You find yourself rooting for these people.  You want to see them succeed.  After all, the owner of the three casinos is not so likable and lovable.  In fact, he’s kind of jerk who you want to see beaten by Danny Ocean and his crew.

And that’s where I find myself reflecting - WHY should I like or love a group of people who are plotting and scheming (and ultimately, succeeding) in breaking the law?  The Psalmist would write:  “They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one” (Psalm 53:3).  Maybe that is the problem.  We glorify and glamorize sin in order to assuage the sin the rests in our hearts.  The apostle Paul would write:  “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Romans 3:23).  All…not only Danny Ocean’s band of outlaws but - you guessed it - you and me.  Maybe this is why we enjoy movies like The Godfather, The Shawshank Redemption, and Ocean’s Eleven.  We see people doing what we dream of doing.  Getting rich quick, getting one over on “the man,” and getting away with it.  It’s an indictment on the human condition - fallen, sinful, and broken.

So is there any hope for the likes of us?  Chances are we are not going to get a group together and rob three casinos simultaneously in the new year.  So where will we find the thrill of victory?  Just keep reading what the apostle Paul had to say:  “…and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith…” (Romans 3:24,25a).  We find victory and peace in the one who came to forgive the sins of the world - Jesus Christ.  Notice the glory is not in the sin, but in the forgiveness of sins.  The glory is not in the thrill of doing the illicit and illegal; it is in the one who removes the stain of sin.  

So as we prepare to turn the calendar page take a moment to gather, reflect, celebrate, and look towards the future.  Realize that God finds you likable and lovable.  In a very real way God has gathered you to be His “Ocean’s Eleven” through the redemption granted through His Son.  And best of all you don’t have to break any laws to receive this immeasurable and priceless gift.