And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
Luke 12:15
Gru and the Minions are back in theaters, this time to face unforeseen sibling rivalry, unexpected job loss, and an unpredictable villain whose super powers include the ability to execute flawless dance routines to hit 80’s pop tunes.
Inspired by his 3 adorable adopted daughters Margo, Edith, and Agnes, Gru has left his life as a “super villain” and joined his wife, Lacy, as an agent of the Anti-Villainy League. But his new lease on life takes a downward spiral when Gru is unable to capture 80’s child star turned villain, Balthazar Bratt.
For Gru, Life is not proceeding according to plan.
Despite this setback, Gru is encouraged when he discovers that he has a long-lost twin brother named Dru. When the family visits Dru, they discover that he resides on an exotic island featuring cobblestone streets, cheese festivals, and, to the elation of little Margo, rumors of real life unicorns. Gru’s excitement, however, quickly turns to envy as he beholds his brother’s immense wealth, dashing charm, and flawless hair – all elusive life features for the ambitious Gru.
Young Margo, too, has an ambitious nature, After a brief interaction with a fellow unicorn hunter, Margo quickly sets out, with the supervision of her older sister, for the Crooked Forest. There she lays a candy and bubble gum snare sure to lure the evasive creature. After several hours, the pair hears a rustling noise in a thicket near Margo’s trap. Suddenly a creature springs for the candy. It’s fluffy just like a unicorn, it has one horn just like a unicorn, but the “trained eye” of Agnes (as well as the audience) sees the truth. It’s just a one-horned goat, a fact that is verified by the gentle bahing sound imitating from the creature as Margo jubilantly embraces her new found pet.
Later, a defeated Gru, frustrated by further setbacks, sees Margo for the first time playing with her mislabeled pet. “Look, look! I found a unicorn!”
As he sympathetically, sets down with his daughter and the pet she adopted, he attempts to gently burst her bubble; “Oh, honey, that’s not a unicorn, it’s just a goat with one horn missing.”
“It’s just a goat,” she replies with a hint of sorrow in her voice.
Gru then offers his daughter this bit of life truth:
Life is just like that sometimes. We’re hoping for a unicorn and we get a goat.
Rarely does life deliver on desires. Our greatest pursuits usually end somewhere far short of where we were aiming. We make our plans, set our traps, and patiently wait, but the mythical unicorn turns out to be nothing more than a disfigured goat. And it is at these moments when we are tempted to compare our achievements with our aspirations and then despair over the apparent deficit.
It is never fair to compare reality with fiction. The very real husband can never challenge a Prince Charming fantasy for the love of a spouse. The very real child can never live up to the myth of what we thought parenting would look like. And the very real career can never compete with the dream job.
If we are going to play the comparison game, we must do so fairly. And here is the truth that will result. When you anticipated unicorn, but you discovered you only have a goat, you are still to the positive. . . by one goat.
Consider Margo’s response. Seemingly undisswayed by her father’s revelation, Margo springs to her feet, wraps her arms around the goat and declares, “But isn’t he the bestest goat you’ve ever seen.”
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