I went to the theatre of movies yesterday and got to watch Thor (let not the fact that they refer to him as "the god of thunder" fool you, they cleared that up well in the movie and it was a very good movie.) and it got me thinking about character development. (Warning: May contain spoilers)

The storyline is (with taking out details) about Thor learning of how to act like a King to be wise and kind and not dangerous and spontaneous. So, at the beginning of the movie his powers are taken from him and he is turned mortal and sent to Earth. During his time here he has to learn an important life lesson, he only gets his hammer (the source of his power) back when he is worthy. Something about "to he who holds this hammer, if he be worthy, let him possess the power of Thor."

Anyways, in the end he gets his hammer back because he learned his lesson. His lesson was that of sacrifice, mercy, and wisdom. But I found it nice that he didn't get his power back because he was perfect, no, he still has those very prominent imperfections, but because he was prepared to wield such power.

My question is, how would you make a character worthy? If you were going to make a character with such a need to be moral and Kingly, how would you make him/her without making him/her perfect?

Bethany Faith

My personal definition of "maturity," modified from something my daddy says, is - "Maturity isn't knowing everything. It's admitting that you don't."

I think that ties into your question here. Humility is a big factor in biblical maturity and godliness. There are a multitude of verses in Scripture that reinforce this fact. I think a character such as you describe, and all godly characters, needs to be humble in the biblical sense of the word. (Which can be hard to define, just as it can be hard to apply in our own lives. That's where prayer and study comes in!)

If a character is humble and honest, striving towards godliness - even if they haven't achieved it yet - that makes them worthy, because that's what God wants from us.

Phili! Awesome verse! That's like... my dad's theme verse thingy. We had to memorize the entire passage a few years ago. He has a blog called Micah 6:8.

Sorry, carry on. It was just awesome to see someone quote that.

Like Philli said, I think that humility is a big factor. If I could borrow a quote from Prince Caspian,



Or if you, like me, prefer the movie quote,



I also think the the king needs to realize that the kingship and the power he holds isn't to benefit himself, but to work for the people. He needs to be willing to do what is best for them, even to the point of sacrificing his life, if the situation called for it.

Love the PC quote, Raven! Well said.

It's a memorable and meaningful verse, Katie, isn't it?