Lotso
See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
-Hebrews 12:15
-Hebrews 12:15
Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear
Today, we are discussing one of the most deceptive characters in the entire Toy Story Universe: Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear!
I just took our youth group to the Little Prairie Bible Camp Fall Retreat, outside of Rolla, Missouri. It's a beautiful place, and was a fantastic spiritual getaway! We watched Toy Story 3 together at the Retreat, so I wanted to use Lotso, one of the main characters from that movie today in this blog, and I think it is safe to discuss some spoilers. (The movie is also sixteen years old, so I feel like the statute of limitations on spoilers has expired!)
Who wouldn’t trust a big, cuddly, strawberry-scented teddy bear?! Lotso welcomes Andy’s toys to Sunnyside Daycare with open arms and a warm smile. He seems kind. He seems caring. He smells like strawberries! What could possibly go wrong?!
Well…pretty much everything.
We eventually learn that Lotso was not always the bitter bear we meet at Sunnyside. He once belonged to a little girl named Daisy, whom he deeply loved. After Lotso was accidentally left behind, he worked incredibly hard to find his way back home-only to discover that Daisy had replaced him with another Lotso.
Bless his strawberry-scented heart—that had to hurt!
Lotso’s pain was real. His feelings of rejection and abandonment were real. But instead of allowing that wound to heal, Lotso allowed it to become bitterness. His pain changed the way he saw Daisy, himself, and eventually every other toy around him.
Lotso’s hurt became bitterness.
His bitterness became a belief.
And his belief eventually shaped his behavior.
He decided that if Daisy’s love couldn’t be trusted, then no child’s love could be trusted. He lied to Big Baby, took control of Sunnyside, and made the other toys suffer because of what had happened to him.
Pain may explain what is inside us, but it does not excuse what we spill onto others.
That is why the writer of Hebrews warns us about allowing a “bitter root” to grow. Roots may begin beneath the surface where no one else can see them, but they do not stay there. Eventually, they grow. Eventually, they produce fruit. And according to Hebrews, bitterness does not only affect the person carrying it; it causes trouble and hurts many people.
That is exactly what happened with Lotso.
Near the end of the movie, Woody and his friends actually save Lotso’s life! Then, just moments later, Lotso has the opportunity to save them from the incinerator. All he has to do is press one button. Instead, Lotso abandons them.
COME ON, LOTSO!
But that moment reveals what had been growing inside of him all along.
For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
-Luke 6:45
Lotso smelled like strawberries, but what spilled out of him was bitterness.
So let me ask you, friend: What spills out of you when life shakes you?
Is it anger? Sarcasm? Resentment? Control? Do you punish people in your present because of something someone did to you in your past?
Maybe you have been rejected. Maybe someone abandoned you. Maybe someone you trusted broke that trust. I am not asking you to pretend it didn’t hurt. I am not asking you to call something good when it was clearly wrong.
But I am asking you not to allow that pain to decide who you become.
Bring your hurt to God. Talk to someone you trust. Ask the Lord to help you forgive. Forgiveness does not mean what happened was okay: it means you are refusing to let what happened continue ruling your heart.
PLEASE, FRIEND: DO NOT LET BITTERNESS TAKE ROOT!
God can heal what hurt you. He can help you respond with grace instead of revenge, kindness instead of cruelty, and forgiveness instead of bitterness.
Don’t become like Lotso. Don’t allow one painful chapter to write the rest of your story.
May what spills out of us be love, grace, patience, and the truth of Jesus. And if bitterness has already started taking root, may we allow God to pull it out before it grows any deeper.
Smelling like strawberries won’t hide bitterness forever. What spills out of us reveals what we have allowed to take root within us. -Zac
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. -Ephesians 4:31–32
I just took our youth group to the Little Prairie Bible Camp Fall Retreat, outside of Rolla, Missouri. It's a beautiful place, and was a fantastic spiritual getaway! We watched Toy Story 3 together at the Retreat, so I wanted to use Lotso, one of the main characters from that movie today in this blog, and I think it is safe to discuss some spoilers. (The movie is also sixteen years old, so I feel like the statute of limitations on spoilers has expired!)
Who wouldn’t trust a big, cuddly, strawberry-scented teddy bear?! Lotso welcomes Andy’s toys to Sunnyside Daycare with open arms and a warm smile. He seems kind. He seems caring. He smells like strawberries! What could possibly go wrong?!
Well…pretty much everything.
We eventually learn that Lotso was not always the bitter bear we meet at Sunnyside. He once belonged to a little girl named Daisy, whom he deeply loved. After Lotso was accidentally left behind, he worked incredibly hard to find his way back home-only to discover that Daisy had replaced him with another Lotso.
Bless his strawberry-scented heart—that had to hurt!
Lotso’s pain was real. His feelings of rejection and abandonment were real. But instead of allowing that wound to heal, Lotso allowed it to become bitterness. His pain changed the way he saw Daisy, himself, and eventually every other toy around him.
Lotso’s hurt became bitterness.
His bitterness became a belief.
And his belief eventually shaped his behavior.
He decided that if Daisy’s love couldn’t be trusted, then no child’s love could be trusted. He lied to Big Baby, took control of Sunnyside, and made the other toys suffer because of what had happened to him.
Pain may explain what is inside us, but it does not excuse what we spill onto others.
That is why the writer of Hebrews warns us about allowing a “bitter root” to grow. Roots may begin beneath the surface where no one else can see them, but they do not stay there. Eventually, they grow. Eventually, they produce fruit. And according to Hebrews, bitterness does not only affect the person carrying it; it causes trouble and hurts many people.
That is exactly what happened with Lotso.
Near the end of the movie, Woody and his friends actually save Lotso’s life! Then, just moments later, Lotso has the opportunity to save them from the incinerator. All he has to do is press one button. Instead, Lotso abandons them.
COME ON, LOTSO!
But that moment reveals what had been growing inside of him all along.
For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
-Luke 6:45
Lotso smelled like strawberries, but what spilled out of him was bitterness.
So let me ask you, friend: What spills out of you when life shakes you?
Is it anger? Sarcasm? Resentment? Control? Do you punish people in your present because of something someone did to you in your past?
Maybe you have been rejected. Maybe someone abandoned you. Maybe someone you trusted broke that trust. I am not asking you to pretend it didn’t hurt. I am not asking you to call something good when it was clearly wrong.
But I am asking you not to allow that pain to decide who you become.
Bring your hurt to God. Talk to someone you trust. Ask the Lord to help you forgive. Forgiveness does not mean what happened was okay: it means you are refusing to let what happened continue ruling your heart.
PLEASE, FRIEND: DO NOT LET BITTERNESS TAKE ROOT!
God can heal what hurt you. He can help you respond with grace instead of revenge, kindness instead of cruelty, and forgiveness instead of bitterness.
Don’t become like Lotso. Don’t allow one painful chapter to write the rest of your story.
May what spills out of us be love, grace, patience, and the truth of Jesus. And if bitterness has already started taking root, may we allow God to pull it out before it grows any deeper.
Smelling like strawberries won’t hide bitterness forever. What spills out of us reveals what we have allowed to take root within us. -Zac
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. -Ephesians 4:31–32
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