The Potential Inside is a film written, produced, and directed by Liberty Alum, Scotty Curlee. The film was shot here in Central Virginia and many of the scenes were shot on Liberty Mountain. When I went to the showing of this film all I could think about the whole time was the annotated bibliography on religious coping that I had just completed. In this film a professional cyclist experiences a life crisis that causes his faith to be shaken. It is clear throughout the film that his initial response to this crisis is to use negative religious coping. More specifically he takes on a self directing religious coping style that is manifested by becoming angry with God for allowing this situation to occur. He also discontinues attending church services and withdrawals socially from family members and friends. This movie is a great example of negative religious coping and the effects this style of coping can have on an individual's life. I highly recommend everyone in our class to watch it!
After reading about this film, I am definitely interested to see it. I think the struggle this man faces seems to be a struggle that we all face in times of difficult, trials, or life events that we have no control over. The only control we do have in these situations is our response. Many of us do respond to these difficulties in our lives by using this self-directed, negative religious coping mechanism. Instead of relying on God, we rely on our self to solve problems that are way bigger than us and beyond our own abilities to solve them. During these times we must turn to a God who is capable and bigger than anything we may face in this world. Instead of blaming him for our difficulties, we must lean on him and rely on his provision to get us through them.
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