In the story about Cain and Abel, God warns Cain, "If you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door." To be sure, sin is lurking at the doors of the characters of The Good Girl. The boredom of life, feeling trapped, wanting to be something else, being overwhelmed by one's own mediocrity. Sin lurks at the door waiting for an opportunity.

God asks no one whether he will accept life. This is not the choice. The only choice you have as you go through life is how you will live it.
--BERNARD MELTZER

Choose to love—rather than hate
Choose to smile—rather than frown
Choose to build—rather than destroy
Choose to persevere—rather than quit
Choose to praise—rather than gossip
Choose to heal—rather than wound
Choose to give—rather than grasp
Choose to act—rather than delay
Choose to forgive—rather than curse
Choose to pray—rather than despair.

Be entirely tolerant or not at all; follow the good path or the evil one. To stand at the crossroads requires more strength than you possess.
--HEINRICH HEINE (1797–1856)

There is at least some hope in the ending shots of the film, that allows us to see the good that can come even after the evil that we have allowed in our lives. There is a reminder that even when we have sinned -- even when we have gone far beyond where I ever dreamed of going -- there is still the chance to turn back and joy that can be found even in the lives that have seemed to be so much like a prison.

One day there came along that silent shore,
While I my net was casting in the sea,
A Man who spoke as never man before,
I followed him; new life began in me.
Mine was the boat, but his the voice,
And his the call, yet mine the choice.
--GEORGE MACDONALD (1824–1905)

Deut. 30:19
"Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, that you and your descendants might live!

Joshua 24:15
But if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord."

Romans 2:7
He will give eternal life to those who persist in doing what is good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers.

Romans 11:22
Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe to those who disobeyed, but kind to you as you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off.

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