Facing Your Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde

Everyone wants some kind of change. If you don’t think there is something in each of us that we don’t like, check out the self-help books, cosmetics shelves, and plastic surgery ads. We try all kinds of physical fixes to help change what’s inside.

In the 1941 film Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Spencer Tracy plays Dr. Henry Jekyll, who wants to help make the world a better place by removing the evil urges he’s sure everyone has. Dr. Jekyll’s good intentions turn sour as the experimental solution fails. Ingrid Bergman plays a barmaid, and Lana Turner plays a refined and innocent woman. These ladies have an effect on Dr Jekyll’s plans, but neither knew at first how far his experiments would go.  

This horror film, based on the Robert Louis Stevenson novel, changed the story slightly and was nominated for three Oscars. Award-winning director Victor Fleming did a good job with this movie, but his only Best Director Oscar was for Gone With The Wind in 1939.

The good news you can take away from this film is that not everyone lets their Mr. Hyde run free. We can develop our God-given self-control. We allow God to help us make good decisions when we choose to use his wisdom. Facing that part of ourselves that we don’t like can be less scary when we give it to God. He can handle it.

Come back next week for more on how to take the scary out of your situation.