I've always loved Frank Capra's, "It’s a Wonderful Life," but in this year's viewing on Christmas Eve, I was determined to discover exactly why. Sure, it has some cheesy elements to the "feel-good" plot, but yet somehow, every time I see it, I can't help but see myself in George Bailey's shoes. As a youngster, he had big plans and big dreams, saying, "I know what I'm gonna do tomorrow and the next day and next year and the year after that. I'm shaking the dust of this crummy little town off my feet and I'm gonna see the world! Italy, Greece, the Parthenon, the Coliseum. Then I'm coming back here and go to college and see what they know. And then I'm gonna build things. I'm gonna build airfields. I'm gonna build skyscrapers 100 stories high. I'm gonna build bridges a mile long…" Although I never planned or dreamed of building things, most people who knew/know me well know that I've always had my ambitious "life plan" pretty-well mapped out. In addition, George, in conversation with his father after being asked to take over the family business, said, "I'm gonna build things, design new buildings, plan modern cities…I couldn't face being cooped up in a shabby little office…It's this business of nickels and dimes and spending all your life trying to figure out how to save three cents on a length of pipe. I'd go crazy! I want to do something big and something important." Oh man, those same words are definitely not far from my own after spending the 1999 summer vacation as a state park maintenance worker, when I said, "I don't want to spend my life cleaning toilets that are dirty the next day and cutting grass that grows back in a week. I want to make a real difference."
And yet, as much as I still resonate with George's passion and need for significance, I have come to appreciate the incredible truth and wisdom in George's father's response "You know George, I feel that, in a small way, we're doing something important, satisfying a fundamental urge. It's deep in the race for a man to want his own roof and walls and fireplace. And we are helping them get those things in our shabby little office." In other words, I have since learned that doing something big and making a difference can be accomplished anywhere and by anyone, as long as they have the proper perspective. And that is what I believe the movie is all about. George dreamed big, but all of those dreams got squashed – traveling, schooling, building bigger and better things. Instead he had to sit back and watch his former classmates conquer those heights without him. And yet, despite being stuck in his father's shabby little office his whole life, the climactic scene at the end answers the big question that was being asked all along: Had George done something BIG after all? Had he accomplished something significant with his life? Obviously, the answer is yes, as evidenced by the number of people whom he had touched/blessed through the years. In the words of the wingless angel who had the IQ of a rabbit, "Each man's life touches so many other lives," and George decided to use his "touches" in a positive way. His foil in the film, Mr. Potter, like all of us, had the same opportunities to touch other's lives, yet his life pursuits were entirely selfish, such that, at one point, George accurately assessed his adversary's ultimate value, saying, "In the whole vast configuration of things, I'd say you're nothing but a scurvy little spider!" How about that for a charge of insignificance?
In further contrast to the nasty Mr. Potter, I love the statement that George's brother Harry makes upon his arrival at the party. The recently-decorated war hero, raises a glass and announces, "A toast, to my big brother George, the richest man in town!" I like that line so much because although George gained a lot of money that night, his earthly wealth was still nowhere near that of the untouchable Mr. Potter. Rather, it seems clear to me, that Harry is using "richest" to point to a different, and more important type of wealth: that is, the wealth of friendship, having invested his whole life in others. Even when George's company faced the $8000 deficit in fiscal wealth, his true wealth was untouched. If financial wealth has value, then friendship, or social wealth, has more. Yet, think the Bible teaches of a wealth another tier higher: eternal wealth! At the end of my life, hopefully having invested in significant, that is, eternally significant things, I hope to be numbered among the truly wealthy, that is, the "good and faithful servants," not with the "scurvy little spiders" who ruled in our earthly lives.
There is one other part of the story that always gets me, especially these last few years. At the end, when George and his family are standing in front of the Christmas tree, shocked and awed at the blessing of gifts from their friends, I suddenly find my stomach in my throat every time Ernie reads the telegram from Europe stating that their long-time friend "Hee-Haw Sam" approved the advancement of up to $25,000. The Bailey Building and Loan had an $8000 deficit before the money started rolling in. The gifts given by local friends very well may have made up for that and then some, but then to slap $25,000 on top? Their cup of blessing overflowed and flooded the house! Sure, it's predictable, maybe a bit cheesy, but it gets me every time because that is the way that Andrea and I feel when we get our finance statements. The faithful individuals and churches that make up our regular supporters provide a strong, and invaluable foundation. And on top of that, we are occasionally blessed by surprise one-time gifts that help us meet surprise needs (such as truck repairs). This past year, while our regular partners have remained consistent, we have been observing a sharp decrease in this one-time giving, something that is expected to happen the longer we stay overseas (and the more detached we become from potential partners). Yet, this month, December 2013, has seen an amazing incoming of extra gifts. Like George, our cup overflows, and we can only stand awestruck and humbled as a result! Of course, we never expect to amass nor wield earthly wealth like the Mr. Potters of this world, but hey, that's not the riches we're interested in as we pursue our own life of significance.
I love that movie "It's a Wonderful Life." I like your take on the main characters in the movie.
ReplyDeleteI love that movie "It's a Wonderful Life". I really like your take on the main characters. Spiritual riches indeed way better that material wealth. For me, "It's a Wonderful Life" is a gospel tract that I gave my father-in-law one Christmas, at Sunny Ridge, the poinsettia that my mother gave to my father-in-law, the amazing and miraculous incident at that nursing home where my father and father-in-law were actually touching each other's hands while they were sitting together in their wheelchairs in the hallway, the fact that I actually enjoyed talking to my father-in-law that Christmas, and although he died the day after Christmas that year, we saw a big change in his life, he was somehow sweeter and nicer than he had ever been, and our hope is that he went to heaven on that December 26th, and that we will see him again.