Even without the Christian trimmings about living within your means, Stand Strong is an interesting situation about a family who had been putting material possessions and acquiring them to keep up with the Jones.
Chris Steele and Alison Trouse are a pair who've just overextended themselves and now they're in debt. Business reversals have led to him being laid off, house and car being repossessed, the family fortunately has in Jon Mckenzie a brother to Steele who takes the whole group in.
McKenzie is a financial planner, but he's also a Christian and we keep hearing words about God having the right idea. We do get some biblical quotes and by giving some rather secular advice McKenzie gets Platt on the road to recovery.
The Christian part comes when their youngest Nathan Dobbin is nearly killed in a climbing accident. That will make anyone reexamine what's important in this world.
It seems to me we're talking about two separate things. Materialism and the worship of possessions you can't take with you. One does not have to be a fundamentalist Christian to appreciate that perspective. The second thing is that good financial planning is not a spiritual concept. The film rather falsely says the two are linked and I say, not necessarily.
Good for church audiences, The world outside will not necessarily see the connections Stand Strong tries to make.
