Right now, there is only one show I try and see every week - Survivor. My wife says I shouldn't admit it, but some time after Wednesday I go to cbs.com to watch what happened to this season's castaways. It is fascinating to watch the relationships, the motivations of people, the manufactured suspense - it is a bit of societal research. I've noticed something interesting this season, but to grasp what I'm talking about, you will need to bear with me as a I fill in the non-survivor watchers about this season's "new twist."
The sub-title this season is, "Redemption Island." The "twist" is that when someone is voted off, they are not gone for good, but sent to live by themselves on Redemption Island (though I see no real indication they are on an actual island). Then, when the next person is voted off, they too are sent redemption island, where the two face off in a duel - the winner remains, the loser is gone for good. At some point in the game, the person who has survived redemption island is brought back in and rejoins the tribe.
This season, the second person voted off was Matt. Matt is self identified as a committed Christian. This always makes me, as someone who goes by the same label, a little nervous. But Matt was seemingly voted off because he was a nice guy, because he was bonding with people, because (from what I could tell) he was doing his best to be like Jesus. He didn't preach, he didn't annoy - I'm liking Matt. And Matt is still on the show - he has won four duels so far on redemption island - every time pulling up from behind and winning.
But here is the observation: Matt understands the concept of redemption. Others on the game do not. A few people were able to observe the redemption duel, and then report back to the whole tribe what happened. Matt said to the host something along the lines, "If I can pull this off, it will be greatest story of redemption in Survivor history." Being one of the first to Redemption Island, he knew that if he could win all the challenges and make it back into the game, it would be amazing, and something worth talking about. A story of redemption.
But when it was reported back to the tribe, the observers said, "yeah, Matt was all talking about revenge." At first I thought they must not have heard him right, but then I realized, they might not have the frame work to think like Matt was thinking. Yes, he was blind-sided. Yes, he was voted out for being a nice guy. But Matt wasn't focused on revenge, they couldn't fathom this. Matt has a faith which helps him grasp forgiveness. But he also understands the glory of redemption - being restored, bought back, getting another chance.
Redemption - it is not a common theme today. It will be fun to see if Matt can redeem himself in the game of Survivor, but regardless, he knows that he can never redeem himself in the reality of life. For the redemption that really matters, we must rely on something beyond ourselves.
To Redeem:
- to make up for; make amends for; offset (some fault,shortcoming, etc.)
- to obtain the release or restoration of, as from captivity, by paying a ransom.
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