Good, Evil, and Grace

If you’ve been to the movie theatre recently, you’ve probably seen a lot of promotion for the new Lilo & Stitch movie. Despite how you feel about what the internet has dubbed a controversial ending, I want to take a moment to analyze one of the themes in the film. 

Throughout the movie, Nani, Lilo’s older sister, is trying to make Lilo and Stitch behave so she can maintain a job and keep legal guardianship of her little sister. However, Stitch seems to mess up Nani’s chances of either of these things happening. He causes destruction wherever he goes and Lilo decides to make it her mission to teach Stitch how to be good. 

During a touching scene, Stitch asks Lilo if he’s bad. Lilo responds by telling Stitch that he is good but chooses to do bad things. This sounds good, right? 

On the surface, it sounds comforting and affirming with a message of inherent goodness. But when we look at it through a Christian worldview, it becomes clear that this well-meaning message is incomplete. 

Our Sin and the Gospel

Scripture teaches that we are all made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). That means every human has value, purpose, and a moral compass that reflects God’s character. But Scripture also teaches us that because of the Fall, we are born into sin (Romans 5:12). We aren’t innocent, inherently good beings who mess up sometimes. We are, at our core, bent toward rebellion against God. 

But this reality doesn’t diminish our worth in Christ—it magnifies our need for a Savior. If we were truly good, we wouldn’t need saving. Ephesians 2:1 says, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins.” Before we knew Christ, we were spiritually dead—unable to fix ourselves or earn favor with God. The problem isn’t what we do; it’s who we are apart from Christ.  

This is where God’s grace changes everything. If we were inherently good, we wouldn’t need a Savior. Jesus came to do what we could not. He lived the perfect life, died the death we deserved, and rose again so that we could experience a restored relationship with our Creator.  We Need Jesus

The message of Lilo and Stitch—that we’re good but just need love to change—sounds nice, but it only holds true if Jesus is real. Human effort and love alone can’t overcome the sin nature we’re born into. Only Jesus can do that. When we encounter Jesus and choose to follow him, he completely and radically transforms us. We are no longer our old selves but a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). 

Brittany Proffitt lives in North Texas and is a writer and content manager for So We Speak.