Black, white, and shades of grey

I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway (Romans 7:19).

Actors often say that they would rather play a villain than portray the hero. Villains are more interesting as characters. What drives them to behave the way they do? What redeeming qualities do they have, if any? What can we learn about human nature, about ourselves, from understanding them?

In my opinion, flawed characters are the most fascinating to watch. There is nothing interesting about an evil psychopath—characters like Jason Voorhis or Michael Meyers are objects of fear, little more than vicious animals that walk on two legs. At the other extreme, heroes who never have a moment of doubt or hesitation are not interesting either—we cannot relate to them, we can only look up to them as examples of good behavior. The most interesting characters are those who walk in shades of gray—Rick Blaine in Casablanca, Darth Vader in Star Wars, Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind. We are fascinated by characters who have both light and darkness within them—heroes with a fatal flaw and villains who have a chance at redemption. We find these kinds of characters interesting, because they are like us—a mixture of both good and evil.

In a comedy, you’ll sometimes see a character struggling with a tough decision. Sitting on one shoulder, a little white angel whispers good advice into one ear; on the other shoulder, a little red demon suggests a darker course. Although intended for laughs, this old cliché speaks of a truth everyone can understand—the constant struggle we have between doing right or committing evil. Since this is a problem we all have in common, we are interested to see how fictional characters resolve moral struggles.

We walk in shades of gray. All of us have fatal flaws; all of us have a chance at redemption. But while morally gray characters can be interesting for actors to portray and fascinating for us to watch, it is no fun to be one. It is no fun to be tormented with doubts as to whether you’re doing the right thing. It is no fun to constantly wrestle with temptation. When every day is filled with doubt, there is little room left in your life for joy. Jesus wants to free you from this struggle; follow Him, and you can walk in the light.