It is not unusual for a popular person or story to be used to make a point or to hasten a theory. Pollyanna, the 1960 Disney movie, has been a favorite for many years. Because of a death in the family a young girl, Pollyanna went to live with an aunt whose wealth has formed her character. Aunt Polly is so negative about so many things that she and Pollyanna have many disagreements. The story centers on those disagreements and Pollyanna’s determination to bring happiness and cheer back to the town where they live.
This Eleanor Porter story is pleasant, but as the years have passed since its writing, the term “Pollyanna” has come to describe a person who is optimistic to a fault. To call someone a Pollyannatodayis to regard him or her as childish, being unrealistically cheerful and optimistic, unwilling to look at a matter objectively.
Many in today’s world are either “died in the wool” pessimists or optimists. Why can’t we just be “realistically objective”, looking at life as it is, with every plus and minus? Whatever happened to the idea of looking at an issue, seeing all the positives and negatives, then reaching a conclusion that fits with the facts? Does that automatically make someone a pessimist? On the other hand, is a person a “Pollyanna” who has been taught that saying “no” is always bad manners?
How can that person make a decision that is reasonable and in harmony with the right/wrong standards he/she was taught?
Life is full of choices, some more significant than others. If a youth approaches a choice without being taught how to choose, or just told “don’t be negative”, he really has no choice. The decisions of life that have the most impact on one’s life must be made with much thought, much instruction, and show respect for all of the possible consequences of that choice. He/she must know the difference between “right” and “wrong”, how to discern the difference, and must be taught, knowledgeable of the standards that govern their choices.
Some things are right or wrong, and it is easy to see which should be chosen and which should be rejected. We learn how to make those choices by recalling what we have been taught and what we have learned in making other choices.
Other choices are very difficult fundamentally. A strong case can be made for either choice, and it is made more difficult when additional factors are introduced into the equation.
Let us look at an illustration of a choice in which there is no standard that would govern the making of that choice. Suppose a young man is buying his first car or truck. Assuming he is of age and all other things are equal, how does he make this decision? Examining the vehicle, he finds several mechanical issues, one or two that could be very costly to repair. Should he be an “optimist” and ignore those flaws? Or should he make a decision on what he knows?
Most of us have been taught by parents or other adults how to make important decisions. If we have been taught by a person that is a “Pollyanna”, our outlook could easily be “optimistic to a fault.” If our teacher is bent the other way, we could be very disappointed in some of our attempts to make decisions.
If our teacher was a solid Christian, we may have already made some choices, decisions based upon what the Bible says. Having that instruction and following through with what we learned will be a blessing to us.
There are some actions that are wrong because God, our Creator has said so. Others are right by the fact that God has given His approval to them. It is wrong to tell lies, to steal, to covet. Why? Because the Bible plainly says so. The only decision that remains is whether we will live by God’s will or our own will.
We can agree that God could have made us robots; He could have programmed our mind to “do right.” But He did not – He gave us the ability to make our own decisions. We like it that way, but how we approach decision making will reveal our attitude toward God’s will. And – our own eternal destiny.
Be honest with yourself and with God. That will help in every decision you make.
