Maintenance Report from Gundam ’79 The Movie
Report from: Branson Boykin

In Gundam ’79: The Movie, Amuro often seems wholly overwhelmed by the events around him. After one of his battles, while people are attempting to congratulate him and celebrate what he did. Yet he is in an emotional state. He doesn’t want accolades; he wants to rest and cry. Ultimately the team comes to him and tells him to snap out of it and focus on what’s important.

The thing about Amuro is that his pride will not allow him to be dependent on other people. He has serious PTSD-level trauma in his mind, yet he won’t allow anyone to help him. This is probably partially why poor Fraw Bow has been so frustrated with Amuro while Lt. Matilda was on the White Base. Here she’s been attempting to be there for Amuro the entire time, yet his attention is on a person he’s just met.

Branson revealed how convicting this was for him, not just as a Christian but as a man. Men generally feel that they need to constantly put on the air of, “I’m fine. I don’t need any help. I’m tough. There are zero reasons for anyone to be concerned about me.”  This mentality is even mirrored in how some perceive their walk with Christ should be. They feel that as Christians, because they have faith in Jesus and believe God has their back, they should smile and not worry about anything. Then, if they don’t feel that way, they are made to feel that they are sinning and not putting their faith in God. Because of this, they are tempted to hide their struggles and pains. This damaging mentality is echoed in the actions of Amuro in the movie.

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

Galatians 6:2 (English Standard Version | ESV)

Being part of the Christian family means there is a family. There’s no such thing as a lone ranger Christian. The mindset of “It’s just God and me” is not a biblical mindset. It’s not how God created mankind. He created us to be in the community. He designed us to be in a community because we can lift each other and encourage each other. As followers of Christ, we must be willing to examine ourselves and admit where we are lacking. We need to connect with others who will pray with us, encourage us, and share our burdens with them.

Dallas brought up that one of the biggest stumbling blocks for people is poor experiences in the past. They’ve attempted to trust others. They’ve attempted to allow folks to lift them, but in the end, they dropped them in a very proverbial sense. The biblical community has to build trust with each other so that we can truly be there for each other.

Click the image below to hear the episode this Maintenance Report comes from.

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