Kent Benedict B.

Perales Theology 2
1CHEM1 April 15, 2019
Movie Review: Fireproof

The movie started showing Catherine as a little girl who is full of childish innocence and
declaring how she wants to marry her Dad, but her mom said, that she can’t because he is her
husband and their marriage will never end. Fast forward to the story, after twenty-five (25) years,
Catherine is working now as a public relations director in a hospital and who is also now married
to Caleb Holt, who is working as a fireman. They are already married for seven years. According
to Caleb, when they got married, they were in love.
At some point, both of them had troubles in keeping their relationship as a married couple.
Let’s start with Caleb. At first it was only his personality was affected, but eventually he became
totally unhealthy: towards his parents, his friend Michael, and to God as well. He doesn’t know
how to care, he only wants to get what he wants specifically the boat that he badly wanted; that he
was saving up for. Basically, he doesn’t care about Catherine’s needs. He forgot to take care of
her and make her feel loved, comforted, safe and valued. Instead of exploring affections, and
intimacy with his wife, he is reduced to getting off with pornography on the internet.
On the other hand, Catherine’s character is healthy at some point because it was deeply
influenced by her parents, but it became unhealthy because she tolerated her friends’ advices which
their relationship as a couple became worse. She doesn’t know how to listen, she keeps accusing
and act suspicious of her husband almost all the time, she is also assuming without knowing the
complete story first, she doesn’t respect and appreciate what her husband is doing.
Throughout the story, the couple were already preparing to enter divorce proceedings.
However, Caleb's father challenged his son to commit to a 40-day experiment: "The Love Dare."
Wondering if it's even worth the effort, Caleb agreed for his father's sake more than for his
marriage. It may be a rough part for Caleb because throughout the challenge, what Catherine done
was reject all the good deeds that was done for her. Her motive still lived on. Caleb almost ended
up conceding the challenge because he can’t see the changes for his wife. But in the end, Caleb
successfully done his job. He became more passionate on the challenge because according to his
count, It went up to 43 days. Caleb and Catherine end up being well again. They managed to renew
their vows for the second time.
There are three (3) lessons that touched my heart which I can apply it to my future married
life. Love is not about feelings. It may have begun that way, but for marriages to mature, love has
to mature. Love is more than just feelings. It is an act of will to always desire the best for the
good and well-being of our spouse. That kind of love is not selfish but seeks to reach out, to
sacrifice, to give. Even when you don’t feel like it.
Strong marriages require work, hard work. Beautiful relationships don’t just
happen. It takes a lot of hard work. And often, it is about putting our spouse ahead of our own
desires, wants and needs. That’s hard work!
 You can’t love if you ain’t got love. This was a wonderful revelation Caleb’s father
shared with him. After trying so hard on his own strength, Caleb was just about to give up on the
40-day Love Dare. That was when his father explained why he was not able to love Catherine. He
first needed the love of God in his heart. Without a right relationship with God, we will not be able
to have a right relationship with others around us. Without having and experiencing His love, how
can we know how to love our spouse in the right manner?