Scooby Doo’s Monsters

This week, I am looking at monsters. This seems appropriate since the annual candy swap/Halloween is close, as well as the 2024 election … and with each political party casting the other side as monsters that will destroy the planet (more on that another day.) But today, let’s have fun.

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Near my house is a parked van … a special van … a well recognized van. A Scooby Doo van. I don’t think it’s THE van, nor did it have any air time on any of the shows … to my knowledge. But that doesn’t take away the rush I experience every time I pass it.

When it comes to monsters, Scooby Doo monsters are the best monsters. They are not really monsters. They turn out to be a creepy person … now that I think about it, the creepy person is normally an older white man. And in today’s culture, they (we) do seem to be the monsters responsible for every evil in this world. Arghh.

This monster story, the Scooby Doo franchise, is more than a cartoon, more than a comedic cartel. It teaches us a lot of things. Here are a few I learned (for good and bad.)

1 – A Scooby Snack solves a lot of problems

I start with the bad … and good. I love snacks, too much according to my belt size. And the cinnamon graham crackers shaped like dog biscuits. And a little snack brings a smile, and one step closer to diabetes.

2 – Every one has something good to add

Preppies, nerds, hippies, valley girl, even a dog. (I didn’t make the titles, don’t shoot me.) Each of them played a role. And today, we need to grasp this. We are all different, and we should respect what they can add to various scenarios.

3 – Splitting up can be good and bad

True, the ‘covering more ground’ philosophy is valid. Yet, it seems that splitting up also makes one more vulnerable. Maybe we didn’t learn this from Scooby Doo, but we do see this proven in almost every horror flick … the bad man picks out the individual.

4 – A friend in need is a friend in deed

Shaggy shows up to save Scooby. Velma helps Daphne. It seems they have each others back when it is important.

5 – Bravery isn’t a lack of fear, but the power to continue in light of the fear

6 – The biggest monsters are humans

We have deceitful hearts. We are greedy, arrogant, covetous, and more. Left on our own, we are more Lord of the Flies, living by law of the jungle. But fortunately, when we find Jesus, He creates us a new creations, being formed into His likeness. And His ethics are upside down from the culture of mankind (read Matthew 5-7).

And in Him, we can cast out fears.

Scooby Doo is fun, but is also a great teacher!

What lessons did you learn from Scooby Doo?