Men do not always see what is right before their eyes. This, then, is the goal of missionary work: to reveal what is right before the person’s eyes. The Christian message may sometimes be hard to relate to, whether because of past experiences or prejudices. But the missionary’s job is simply to reveal what is before the friend’s eyes. The question then is, “what do humans most relate to?” And the answer is as simple as the question: stories.
Narrative is what all humans have in common. We all relate to stories. Even the most stubborn student will acknowledge that there is at least one story that touches them deeply. Whether it is a video game campaign, an anime plot-line, or even a self-told personal narrative, stories touch the depths of all human hearts. No one can deny that some story at some point or another has affected them to their core. Even those, like I was in high school, who are devoted to a sport, can recognize a powerful storyline. This year’s Cleveland Cavaliers are a perfect example of that. The struggle they had early on in the year, the rally they produced, and the ultimate outcome, have the potential to touch any person’s heart. Just look at how inspired the city of Cleveland was after they won the championship, and you will get my meaning. Powerful narratives touch the depths of our very souls.
With this in mind, it is not a big leap to ask the question, “How do narratives play a role in a personal development of spirituality?” In my own life it has become obvious that I identify a lot with stories, whether they be movies, books, TV shows, or stories told at a table accompanied by a round of drinks. I learn from the stories I read or am told. Fairy tales are one of the earliest examples of stories that shaped the way that I live my life. The Disney movies I watched and the tales I was told as a child gave me fodder to allow my imagination to set sail and find the depths of my personal narrative, providing inspiration for my own life. I drew ideas from countless stories to fuel my imagination. I dreamed of dragons and other frightening monsters, creating a powerful self within an alternate world that I could draw on for strength in the real world. For example, I loved video games as a child because they told stories that no other source would attempt to tell. Though popular television and movies are great in their own right, they did not plumb the depths of narrative that video games or graphic novels were willing to tell.
I do not know why certain genres are better suited to telling the stories that inspire me. Maybe it has something to do with the budget that each genre allows. TV and movies only have so much money to pay actors and graphic designers to act out the stories that are in their minds. But animated shows, especially anime (Japanese animation, for anyone who is not familiar), can do much more with storylines because their shows are animated, not acted out by live action humans. This means that a lower budget is capable of accomplishing storylines that a live-action TV show could not. Take "Attack on Titan", for example. The season budget was about $200,000 per episode, while "The Walking Dead" clocked in at about $3 million per episode. The shows had similar themes, but the varying budgets allowed "Attack on Titan" to attempt plot lines that "The Walking Dead" simply could not. A famous example is "Dragon Ball Z". Because this show was originally a manga, plots could be addressed that would have been very costly in a live-action show. This is probably why I have been attracted to outside main-stream storylines, like those accompanying video games and anime/animated shows. The lower cost of producing them allowed the producers to attempt things that live-action TV shows and movies could not. But ultimately this is beside the point.
The stories that all of these genres and platforms support explore themes that relate to the most important of human emotions. The desire to inspire others is a common theme. When I was little, I didn’t just want to be the greatest basketball player in the world; more importantly, I wanted to inspire others to be the best they could be. Ultimately, that is what narratives do for us: they inspire us to fulfill our greatest aspirations. So next time you see someone walking around and staring at their phone, give them the benefit of the doubt; assume they are playing Pokemon Go, and believe that they are striving to inspire the next generation to be the best that they can be through a deep narrative. It is vital to keep in mind how inspirational the Gospel narrative actually is. At the very least, I would hope that this article would inspire everyone to explore the narratives that we have ignored up until this point, especially the Gospels. When it comes down to it, we all are inspired by narratives, and we should embrace that aspect of our humanity, and not reject it.
