The Best Life Of My Day

What if you had all the time in the world or the chance to relive the same day over and over until you got it right? How would you spend your day? In Groundhog Day we are given a glimpse into such a situation.

Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is a television weatherman who for the past several years has been given the task of reporting the groundhog ceremony in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, which he grows to detest. This year, however, is different. Due to a snowstorm, the reporting team consisting of Phil, Rita (Andie MacDowell) and Larry (Chris Elliott) are stuck in this tiny town. Phil is confronted with an even bigger nightmare, where he wakes up every morning in the same place, repeating the same day in this same quaint town with the same small-town people. Everyone else is unknowing to the effects except Phil, who goes through the torment of how to live this day.

In life we are given choices of how we are to act, treat others, make choices, and how to be a person in general. Phil Connors is given these choices, only he now has certain information as to what events will take place during the day. At first Phil goes through a short time of confusion followed by phase of self-indulgence, where he gorges on fatty foods and smoking and uses his growing information to easily rob an armored truck, gain inside information to meeting women and to obtain possessions. He tries to learn about his producer, Rita, but is unable to come to the conclusion that he desires, which true to his original nature, is to get her to sleep with him. In one line, Rita is on a date with Phil and says, "I could never love someone like you. You only love yourself." Seeing right through him, she rejects him day after day, causing Phil to go into a deep depression where he attemps to kill himself each day in a different way. Unable to end his life permanently and convinced he is "a god, not the God", he finally convinces Rita to stay awake with him to prove that he isn't lying about what he is experiencing. She is gone in the morning, but Phil begins to live the day differently. Is it American culture, or even human nature to live selfishly like Phil does, using people and advantages in situations for personal gain and pleasure? Think about how often you personally do this.

Phil sets upon the tasks of helping others, such as feeding homeless, catching a falling boy from a tree, giving a choking man the Heimlich, changing a flat tire, and by making himself a better person by learning piano and ice carving. The problem is that even these things fail to change the outcome of his day. Have you known people who think that simply being a good person is enough? Read Romans 3.

It is when he is self-sacrificing, honest and loving when his day finally moves on to the next. Rita learns to care for Phil as he learns to put others before himself. What does Jesus say about how we should treat others? Read Luke 6:27-38. How does this apply to how we should live our lives in general? Read what Jesus Christ says about the greatest commands we should live by in Matthew 22:34-40.

As usual, comments, new ideas and questions are welcomed and encouraged.