Last week I had the opportunity to see the new movie “Boss Baby” with a dear friend of mine.  We just wanted to do something fun and laugh so we decided to see this movie, knowing nothing about it except it had Alec Baldwin voicing a baby in a suit.  What more information did we need?  I was pleasantly surprised at how theological it got and its pin point accuracy of a scary phenomenon in our culture.  If you have not yet seen the movie and want to, I suggest reading this post-viewing because it will have spoilers.

The basic premise of the movie is that Baby Corp. (the transcendent corporation that produces babies for families) is losing profits to the competing Puppy Corp. (the physical corporation that produces puppies).  Boss Baby (a baby with high intelligence and drinks a potion to stop aging) is sent to a family who works in Puppy Corp. to learn of a new puppy that will put Baby Corp. out of business.  What is the currency that Puppy and Baby Corp. are fighting for?  Love.  

The Boss Baby (voiced by Alec Baldwin) explains to his big brother that there is a finite amount of love in the world and the puppies are gaining more love than babies.  If the trend the movie lays out continues, there will be no love left for babies and people will want to stop having babies.  Boss Baby uses this same logic to explain to his older brother why in fact their parents love Boss Baby more than his brother.  So both parents and the entire universe have a finite amount of love to share and we need to choose carefully who and with what we share that love with.  

Lets first look at the theological implications of a finite amount of love.  We read in the scriptures that “God is Love,” (1 John 4:8) so this means that love has to have the attributes God has including his infinity.  There is no beginning or end to God and so there is no beginning or end to love.  Also, because God is Love, every time we experience Love, we are experiencing God.  Love is not a quantifiable entity, love isn’t something that can be measured, love isn’t even just a feeling or emotion.  Love is God.  We see Love wherever we see God: our spouse, our children, the kind gesture of someone, some artwork that takes us outside of ourselves, a sacrifice that is made on our behalf, experiencing the natural beauty of the earth, witnessing the intelligence of humanity, and even seeing human suffering and uniting ourselves to it out of solidarity.  

Second, the cultural problem I see portrayed in the movie is the dehumanization of humans and the continual humanizing of animals.  Please don’t read what I’m not typing, animals are beloved creatures by God and we have a responsibility to care for animals as we have a responsibility to care for all of God’s creation.  I love animals!  That being said, there is a movement in our culture to hold animals up higher than our own sisters and brothers in Christ.  I know couples who equate raising a dog to raising a child.  These same couples have the idea that instead of having a child, they will get a puppy instead.  This mindset is not healthy to the overall culture because it normalizes the idea that animals are as important as humans (if not more important).  

Animals are not made in the image and likeness of God.  Jesus did not become human to save animals.  This is an important truth that we should all reflect on.  We can certainly experience God, who is Love, in animals, especially our own pets; however, animals are not humans and our own charity should reach out to our fellow human beings before those created things that aren’t human.  If we are quick to support an animal shelter with our time and/or money but slow to support a soup kitchen or homeless shelter then we should evaluate why that is.  Do we love animals more than people or are we filling a hole that no one else is?  I’m not saying to stop supporting animal non-profits but I am asking that we examine why and who we give our time and/or money to.  Boss Baby made a very valid and spot on cultural observation.  I hope in the end the movie creators are wrong.