The Significance of Bem as a “Big Fish”, A Mistakenly Yours review
We all know the story of Jonah: a hot-shot prophet from the big Jerusalem city commissioned to go into the little sinful town of Nineveh to announce their doom if they don’t repent.
The prophet, unfortunately, isn’t up for all of that. The people of Nineveh were much too sinful for him to dignify them with his ministry, so he goes on a boat cruise to Tarshish instead. One fatal storm, a couple of “Who-dun-its”, and a drowning incident later, God’s mercy swoops in to save Jonah in the form of a “Phenomenal” big fish.
It is a story we are much too familiar with; so familiar in fact that we do not see how it is a mirror that points to our attitude to God’s instructions most times. Many of us are on a boat cruise to Tarshish as we speak, might this beautifully created movie by Pastor Laju Iren be the “Big Fish”? that comes to save us and spit us on the shores of Nineveh to witness the Lord as we ought? Let’s delve into it.
“MB” or Mboutidem, the protagonist of this story is a young man with a passion for ministry and a clear zeal for the things of God. So zealous was he that our introduction to his character was his irritation at his partner in ministry’s perceived carnality. In his defense, this partner was what you would call a “Gen Z” pastor. He had all the trappings; an imported accent, a TikTok account and a good haircut(we love you MB). Not one to mince words, he made it clear within the first fifteen minutes of his appearance that “Feelings are for carnal people,” and that all that mattered was zeal for the things of God.
This belief however, is about to be rocked to the core when he gets into a situation where his zeal might not be enough. If anything, the zeal he had hitherto displayed was about to drive him into disobedience. Enter Bem, our Big Fish and the actual hero of this story.
Bem is a devoted Christian lady who has had her fair share of ‘breakfasts’. A successful filmmaker from a good home, she seemed to have everything going for her save her choice of men. Something about the ‘bad boy’ type who was sure to break her heart just seemed to appeal to her unduly and after yet another letdown, Bem finds herself needing MB to play her fiance at her younger sister’s wedding.
The wedding scene was just marvelous. We get introduced to the richness of a traditional Itsekiri wedding and to be honest, I was kind of afraid the groom would mistake someone else for his bride(yeah, yeah I know, that’s rather dramatic). In this scene, Pastor Laju Iren explores traditional bias and even uses a traditional taboo to introduce a dramatic turn of events where Bem takes up her sister’s wedding veil and goes out in her place. Bem’s brother-in-law-to-be is no Jacob and in a masterful twist, we see that Bem has committed a taboo and she has to produce a fiance immediately.
MB, on saving Bem from the embarrassment of not having a fiance soon realizes that this arrangement could prove fortunate for him. Before this incident, a series of circumstances drove MB out of his beloved parish to a place where he did not feel equipped or called to go. He had racked his brain for ways to facilitate his reinstatement in his former parish to no avail. Pretending to be Bem’s fiance gave him a fresh opportunity to continue the Lord’s work at his previous place of assignment. It doesn’t occur to MB that what he got by an election of grace could only be sustained by the same. Like Uzzah, MB sought to steady the Lord’s ark of the covenant with his own hand. He thought he could by his efforts continue the good work that God Himself allotted to him.
Are there times that we also, in moments of misplaced zealousness try to seize control from God? We have God-given dreams, visions and assignments, and by worrying that we would not fulfill them all, are we, like MB, already so set in our ways that we are now going against our values to see them fulfilled?
Mistakenly Yours as a movie highlights how God is powerful enough to redirect us even when we have lost our way. As the story builds up, we start to see that MB is not allowed to fully rebel. He gets stuck in this new parish; away from the branch he loved and had pastored for a long while.
In this new parish, MB has to confront a few blind spots and adopt new ways of doing ministry. He learns about godly compromise and he is even instrumental in saving a lost youth from suicide; all of these would not have been possible if he had not been moved to this new branch.
In light of recent events, MB saying “That you have an accent does not mean you speak better than me ooo” is extremely funny. This is actually something we need to delve into. (Twitter users must understand this!).
The friction between MB’s initial decision and his values soon starts to build up into a climactic crescendo when convicted by the Holy Spirit, he begins to repent. I also believe that God in His sovereignty caused an event that brought MB face-to-face with his past, and this forces him to seriously consider how at odds with the concept of God’s mercy he still was.
Many of us are just like MB in this regard. The concept of God leaving the ninety nine to save the one seems crazy until we are that one. And when we are eventually saved, after a while, we forget that if mercy saved us, mercy can and should sustain us. We soon start seeking to fulfill God’s purposes for us by our own strength without realizing that by strength shall no man prevail.
MB faces the consequences of his actions in a series of events that force him to critically examine his life. He soon realizes that throughout his entire ordeal, Bem was a constant factor. Bem was the one who helped him ease into ministry in a new place, ever willing to join him in prayer and fasting for an errant teenager or accompany him to some assignment, she never wavered in her love for him. Even when she heard about his past, she did not judge or castigate him, instead, she tried her best to make sure that he was okay and did her best to help him see how it was God leading him into unknown waters through the church committee.
In the thick of his rebellion, Bem was the big fish God mercifully sent to bring MB back on track and this is why she is the true hero of this beautiful love story.
Which of God’s instructions are we refusing to follow because they would lead us into unfamiliar territory? Are we, like MB, hiding behind our zeal to live out our idea of God’s will rather than His actual will for us? Or are we willing to trust God with our lives even when we are unsure of what tomorrow brings? Whichever way, Mistakenly Yours as a movie tells us that God in His mercy is very willing to send us a “Big Fish” to steer us back on course if we are yielded and our hearts are open.
Like Da Vinci with his brushstrokes on the Monalisa, PL uses the many scenarios that MB has to confront to subtly pass resounding messages about living for God, making mistakes, and fulfilling purpose. Her remarkable storytelling shows up in her writing some humor into almost every scene without taking away the seriousness of the lessons in the film.
As I wrap up this review, I am reminded of a phrase she loves to use when she is preaching to us at church,
“Laugh but hear word.”
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