The Lord of the Rings movies are universally considered masterpieces, while The Hobbit trilogy is condemned as a bloated, uninspired cash-grab. While The Hobbit movies are indeed terrible, they do have a few good moments, and one of them has been stuck in my head for the past month.
A while ago, I was sitting in my phenomenology class, lost in thought. For a reason beyond my comprehension, I began thinking about a line from the movie “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.” I have not seen that movie in ages, but apparently I had seen it enough times for a line from Gandalf to surreptitiously stick in my head.
In the movie, Gandalf has a conversation with Galadriel about the journey to the Misty Mountains and the threat of evil lurking in the shadows. Galadriel asks him why he has recruited the simple hobbit Bilbo Baggins for this adventure, to which Gandalf responds:
“I do not know. Saruman believes that it is only great power that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. I’ve found it is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay – simple acts of kindness and love. Why Bilbo Baggins? Perhaps it is because I am afraid, and he gives me courage.”
As a side note, this line has much more impact in movie form, paired with the great soundtrack and Ian McKellen’s incredible acting.
I’m not sure why this line came to me in class, but I do know that it’s stuck with me in part because I think it’s spot on and speaks to a lot I’ve been dealing with in my own life. I think often we can see the world as filled with suffering and evil, to which our response is either to despair and give up or to resolve to do our best to enact real positive change through concrete measures.
While the latter option is by no means ‘wrong,’ I think we underestimate the true ability we have in our daily lives to change the world for the better. It’s really basic: the friendly conversation we exchange with the cashier, the smile we give to people passing us on the street, the kind words we give to a friend – all of these seemingly insignificant actions matter, and they matter deeply.
There’s an old proverb that says a butterfly flapping its wings on a mountain will cause a hurricane, and I think this idea speaks to the power of the simple. You might not think that a friendly smile could cause change, but what if a smile given to a person makes their day feel even a little bit better? And what if that simple smile and its effect on their mood cascades down to them living a life dedicated to God?
Sure, that might seem an unrealistic example, and the simple acts of kindness we enact might not always radically change someone’s lives. But they are guaranteed to radically change the world, which is the essence of Gandalf’s message: the smallest amount of goodness outweighs the greatest amount of evil. Goodness pursued with love and charity will always change the world for the better.
The notion of simple acts of kindness and love being what truly defeats evil is by no means a new one. St. Thérèse of Lisieux figured that out a while ago. Anything we do in love and charity brings us closer to God and makes the world a better place, even if only by a little bit. But those simple acts can have far greater effects than we can ever possibly know.
The world is filled with suffering, and it is filled with evil. How do we make the world a better place? By living out each day with love and kindness.
Being friendly to Bill when you’re having a bad day and doing the dishes when it’s your roommate’s turn might not seem like anything important. It might even seem smarmy and sentimental. But nothing in the world will be made better until we have first learned to love simply and wholly.
After all, there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for. But instead of fighting armed with force, perhaps we are called to fight armed with simple acts of kindness and love.