“No one can help but admire your spirit.” At long last, welcome back to The Gospel According to, where we connect all the fandoms we already love with Bible verses and Gospel truths you might not have considered before. Not a believer? I encourage you to keep reading anyway; you never know what you might find 😉
This week’s episode is focused on one of my favorite Hunger Games quotes of all time, and the connection here is stunning. Enjoy!
Fandom: “You have no idea, the effect you can have.” – The Hunger Games, Peeta to Katniss / “No one can help but admire your spirit.” – The Hunger Games, Cinna to Katniss
Verses: Matthew 5: 14-16, Colossians 4:5-6, 1 Corinthians 4:16
Truth: When we honor Christ as the Lord of our hearts, others can’t help but notice and we can have a profound effect for the Kingdom.
The Horizontal View: Katniss as unintentional leader
Let’s start this off by talking about the horizontal, or human-level, side of these quotes. One of the clearest things I’ve noticed about the Hunger Games series is Katniss’ desire not to lead the rebellion. Especially at the beginning of the series, the only thought in her mind is the survival of herself and her family. As the first book progresses, however, Katniss is thrust into the limelight cast by the Games, and the decisions she makes cause a reaction that she can’t hope to control.
But there’s something else about Katniss that makes her the perfect person to lead Panem to freedom, and two of the people who know her best, Cinna and Peeta, notice it long before she does. Peeta tells her, “you have no idea, the effect you can have,” on two different occasions, referring to her innate ability to cause people to follow and pay attention to her. Cinna puts a different spin on it when he says, “no one can help but admire your spirit.” By this he refers to Katniss’ refusal to surrender, even when the odds aren’t in her favor, and the compassion she feels for the people of Panem. Once she realizes that the Capitol can’t control her, it’s all over for them.
The combination of these two traits leads to the passionate speeches Katniss will make in the final days of the rebellion, and the decision that will lead her people to true freedom.
The Vertical View: The work of the Holy Spirit leads others to pay attention to us.
Now that we’ve thought about the human side of Katniss and her spirit, let’s consider what happens when we put a capital S in Spirit and apply this quote to our lives as believers. Let me explain what I mean:
1. When we honor Christ as Lord of our life, people can’t help but notice.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16
These verses say it better than I can. When Christ is Lord of our lives, people notice it. We act, think, and speak differently than the people around us who don’t know Him, and that can’t help but make waves. The important thing here is to make sure that Jesus is the one who is visible, that we aren’t letting people admire our own spirit but rather the Spirit of God that lives in us (Proverbs 3:5-6).
2. Our witness can have a greater effect for the Kingdom than we could ever hope to accomplish on our own.
“Walk in wisdom towards outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer each person.” Colossians 4:5-6 ESV
This is the verse that comes to mind whenever I read Peeta’s quote (“you have no idea, the effect you can have”). Let’s think about what salt does: it brings flavor to food that would be bland and dull, and it makes you thirsty for water. I heard a wise person say the other day that our speech should be salty, that is, it should make people thirsty for the Living Water that is in us and bring flavor to the dullness of the world.
How do we go about this? Spend time with people who are “salty,” so that you become more thirsty for the Word yourself. Find people who are immersed in the truth of God’s Word and let their flavor soak into you. And then, have the courage and pray for opportunities to share your learning with people around you who don’t know the Lord. It sounds easier said than done, but the result will be beyond worth it.
Want more of the Hunger Games? You’ll love these posts!
- The Gospel According to The Hunger Games: Radiant as the Sun.
- The Gospel According to The Hunger Games: Only Hope is Stronger Than Fear.
- The Gospel According to Songbirds and Snakes: Pure as the Driven Snow
Let me give an example from the camp I’ve worked at the last two summers. In 2019, I invited a group of ten-year-old girls to practice sharing the Gospel with me and my two fellow counselors. Only one took me up on the challenge, and she did it very effectively.
I would have been happy with that; my entire goal was to build confidence in young believers that they could share their faith with others in a practical way. But God clearly had other plans, and I’m so glad He did. A few days later, I walked into our cabin to find this camper sitting across from another camper and sharing the Gospel with her!! My fellow counselors and I could only watch in amazement as God worked in both campers’ lives. He took my challenge to one camper and multiplied it more than I will ever know. Praise God!
3. The Spirit of Christ in us invites others to follow us and gain freedom in Him.
One final point and verse for the day: “I urge you then, be imitators of me.” 1 Corinthians 4:16 ESV This verse comes from the apostle Paul, who can only be described as one of the pillars of the early Church. He writes this to a group of believers who are struggling to follow Christ, encouraging them to imitate him as He imitates Christ. He also refers to Timothy, a younger believer whom Paul has built up and trained to follow Jesus as he does. In Paul’s absence (he was in prison at the time this was written), Timothy can come to the believers and give them the teaching and guidance they needed. In this way, the effect Paul can have is multiplied through his instruction to Timothy and his instruction in turn to a whole group of other believers.
In the same way, when people see the Spirit in us, we can invite them to follow in our footsteps. As Katniss led the people of Panem to freedom, we can share the freedom we have in Jesus with other believers who share life with us. And the effect we have on the world for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven is multiplied as believers share with others, who share with others, who share with others… the result of this will be nothing short of revolutionary 🔥
Conclusion: “No one can help but admire your Spirit.”
I hope you’re encouraged by this post about the Hunger Games. I know I’m not the only one who has wished to be like Katniss, but we can have an even greater effect on others when we allow the Holy Spirit to speak through us.
Happy fangirling!
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