In the 2005 movie, Pride and Prejudice, directed by acclaimed British director Joe Wright, two scenes grab my heart.

First, Mr. Darcy walks through the cold morning fog to declare his love for Elizabeth Bennet. Gads! My heart jumps right up in my throat and chokes the tears clean out of my eyes. It’s a big swoon moment of the entire film. 

Heavens, this has got to be the most romantic and artistically creative scene ever produced in the history of cinematography. I’ll provide this hopelessly romantic scene below – just for good measure, right?

But I want to talk about another scene that so sums up the sinful side of man.

The beautiful Elizabeth Bennett thought Mr. Darcy was arrogant when they first met, and perhaps he exhibited some upper-crust cheekiness.

He thought she was a gold digger.

After all, her family’s audacious sass and blatant flirting made him feel like a trapped mouse in a bucket.

 It was no secret Elizabeth’s mum was looking for husbands for her daughters.

The plot for this Jane Austen masterpiece is charming and culturally mesmerizing.

In truth, the only relatable factor in this high society story is how messy people and relationships can be. But I still love this timeless, literary masterpiece. 

So, watch the scene, and then we will talk about it.

What you don’t see just before this spirited exchange is that Elizabeth finds out that Mr. Darcy ruined her sister’s chances of marrying the man she loved.

Little by little, Elizabeth has been building a case to hate Mr. Darcy via rumors and lies that she entertained.

But as her feelings continued to sour, Mr. Darcy’s were passionately festering; he was falling head over heels in love with the unwitting Elizabeth.

As we see in the clip, he asks for her hand in marriage. It wasn’t the most romantic or flattering proposal because he speaks to her family’s flaws, lack of station, and reputation.

However, it’s obvious Elizabeth’s feisty ways and outspoken opinions have wooed Mr. Darcy to a place of great pining.

But smack dab in the middle of this gorgeous, climactic scene … two people have chosen to believe the worst about one another.

Gosh, I can so relate. How about you?

Too many times, I’ve chosen to take rumors, perceptions, or distorted truths and make them real in my mind.

Too many times, I’ve let brief encounters paint a negative picture of another’s heart. 

Far too often, I believed gossip or lies because they came from the lips of someone I seemingly trusted or enjoyed.

In truth, it’s a fatal flaw to believe one side of a story without getting the other side.

In time, Elizabeth learns that Mr. Darcy is painfully shy and doesn’t make a friendly showing in crowds. She realizes that Mr. Wickham with his own agenda has grossly distorted Darcy’s character.

Elizabeth experiences his tender heart when he generously helps her younger sister, who gets into scandalous trouble. And in truth, he did discourage his friend from marrying Elizabeth’s older sister because he thought she didn’t love his friend; however, the sister was painfully shy and loved his friend desperately.

But the point is, his motives were pure.

It’s incredible how much we can assume and be wrong, right?

It’s amazing how wrong thoughts and assumptions can harm or destroy relationships.

It’s mind-boggling how much damage loose talk and repeating gossip can cause.

So, what’s the fix?

The fix is in our hearts and minds.

According to Philippians 4:8, we should take the high road.

Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart]. Amplified Bible (AMP)

According to this scripture, our job is to think the very best about each other regardless of what we see or presume, and especially what we hear.

Unfortunately, our feelings lie, and so do we humans if we have bitter lips like Mr. Wickhams.

So the fix comes in training our minds and hearts to think only good about each other.

Can you imagine what our relationships would be like if we obediently followed this scripture?

Can you imagine how loving our churches would be?

God thinks the best about us and our futures; we need to take a cue from His script and live it out in love. 

After all, God loves to watch His kids make it big in love!

So whatever good we can believe about another’s heart, let’s believe it and leave the judgment to Jesus!

Love you and I mean it!

Mel

Oh, I almost forgot; here is the link to watch the most romantic movie scene that’s ever been produced. I promise your heart will skip a beat!

Important Disclaimer!!! I do not own nor claim to own any rights to these clips or this cinematic masterpiece. I’m just a huge fan of this beautiful film and literary classic, and I can always see my creative God in the arts. Now go rent or buy this movie and enjoy it for yourself; I own the collectors’ edition with all the director’s notes, and it’s glorious!