This season of the year brings out the Christmas movies, including the classic, A Wonderful Life. The story, familiar to many of us, is about George Bailey, whose father operated the “Bedford Falls Building and Loan”, competing with a crabby, stingy old man named Potter. When he took over the business, some adverse circumstances led George, to the brink of despair, only to be “saved” by an “angel” named Clarence. George was then led to see what his community would have been like if he had never been born.
The climax of the story comes when he realizes he really had “a wonderful life,” had touched many people for good, even won the battle with the crabby Potter. He realized that the good deeds he had done had not been forgotten, and that others came to his aid when he needed it. Good story – great ending!
What does it take to live a “wonderful life”? How does a person come to know that he/she has made a difference in their community, made friends like George Bailey did, and then been an influence for good, even in the midst of adverse circumstances?
A Good Foundation in Early Years
Young George Bailey had opportunities in his early years that other youths may not have, but he faced them and he dealt with them. Parents must not postpone lessons on helping others, encouraging and assisting people in trouble. Children must be taught proper manners, compassion, respect for those in need and how to respond to such occasions. Only then can they know how to face the challenges so common today.
All it takes is for parents and other adults to lead the way, to show by example and action that compassion is a positive quality in humans. Parents who are stingy, self-serving or blind to the needs of others seldom rear gracious, generous children. Take them with you when you take food to the sick, give the elderly a ride to the doctor, run errands for the home-bound. They won’t forget it!
Right and Wrong – and the Difference
Modernist thinking denies the existence of an objective ethical standard. Christians know better, but the young may not know how to tell the difference without our assistance. They must be pointed toward scripture for answers to questions regarding “right and wrong,” for that is God’s way for us to discern the difference. George Bailey saw his father exercise wise and good judgment in dealing with difficult people, and his memory of Dad’s example stayed with him.
Friendships That Make a Difference
It is not always easy to choose friends who will be a positive influence. Youth are thrown together with others their own age and understandably choose their friends from among that number. But parents can help, and help they must. A good question to ask when forming friendships is, “Where will this friendship lead?”
“Be not deceived: “Evil companions corrupt good morals,” 1 Corinthians 15:33.
The friends of George Bailey stuck with him, even when real trouble came along. Truly, they were not merely “fair-weather-friends.”
To be sure, in order to have friends, one must “show himself friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother,” Proverbs 18:24. That’s what happens with true friendships, and with Christians who see others facing troubles – in their family or in life itself – we reach out, we help.
Some day you may need help, and you may wonder why no one wants to help. Don’t let that happen. Be a friend today and you will always have friends.
How Can You Make A Difference?
• Don’t be afraid to go beyond what you have done in the past. Learn the joy of going the second mile.
“Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him that wants to borrow from you do not turn away,” Matthew 5:41-42.
• Try to look beyond the troubled times of others and see what good you can do. It may not be entirely their fault.
Read about Elijah and the widow of Zarephath, 1 Kings 17.
• Don’t wait for someone to ask you for help; Look for opportunities to help, ways to brighten the lives of others.
• Don’t expect praise for your deeds; there is satisfaction in helping, in giving, that far exceeds someone’s acclaim.
• Allow others to join with you in giving assistance to those in need. They say, “Joy shared is joy multiplied.”
• Think of the needs of others as an opportunity, not as a burden to bear. It then becomes a blessing, not a chore.
• Proverbs 3:27 says: “Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.” Yours will be the loss if you ignore the opportunity.
• If you needed help today, to whom would you turn? Who would you think would be helpful without criticizing you? Now think of that person and the qualities that drew you to him/her. Would that help you to be a “brother’s keeper,” a friend in deed? Why not think about that!
A Christian is a “difference maker,” one who makes life worth living, one who looks for ways to be a real friend to others. Will this world – this community be a better place because of you?
