Is it “A Wonderful Life?”
Via Morning Air (yes, for a Lutheran I listen to a lot of Catholic Radio). “It’s a Wonderful Life” is unpalatable to modern evangelical theology.
Why is George Bailey suicidal? Is it because he did something wrong? No. He did the things a “good son” and “good brother” and “good friend” and “good husband” should do. But he did not see any worldly reward for his actions.
I am the prototypical ISTJ. I do a lot of things because I feel duty bound to do them. People mistake “duty” for lack of desire or love. Rather, it is a part of love that members of the military or the Greatest Generation comprehend. People think duty is a bad thing, but it is really a good thing. It is a good thing I emotionally feel a sense of obligation to those I feel a sense of obligation to. It means, above all, that I like you, but also that I want to be generous with you. So, I relate to the inner conflict of George Bailey to an extent.
I think this is one of the reasons I despise the teachings of Robert Schuler and company so much. They continually stress your personal happiness over that of others. This is not a “Liz you should do all of this and more to the point where your ITP relapses and you almost bleed to death.” And I am also not talking about, “Liz you need to be happy for my sinful lifestyle” thing either. I’m talking about sacrificing on a personal level for the good of others. And when we do sacrifice for the good of others, we should have no expectations of return on our sacrifice.
One of my girlfriends is involved in teaching teens to engage in peer ministry. When I told her about Josh’s extended orders back this winter, she wanted to know what she could do. I’m a fairly low maintenance mil spouse. So, I told her, “Teach your students to sacrifice of themselves for the good of others.”
Sometimes, when we obey God, when we sacrifice personally for the sake of others, our lives get even harder. So, what do we need to do? We need to, like George Bailey, open our eyes and see the blessings we are to others and pray that God will help us through our trials. But over all, yes, it is a wonderful life and I’m grateful to be able to live it.
As an aside, I have a couple of things going on that require my extra attention. So posting will be sparse for the next couple of weeks.
Why is George Bailey suicidal? Is it because he did something wrong? No. He did the things a “good son” and “good brother” and “good friend” and “good husband” should do. But he did not see any worldly reward for his actions.
I am the prototypical ISTJ. I do a lot of things because I feel duty bound to do them. People mistake “duty” for lack of desire or love. Rather, it is a part of love that members of the military or the Greatest Generation comprehend. People think duty is a bad thing, but it is really a good thing. It is a good thing I emotionally feel a sense of obligation to those I feel a sense of obligation to. It means, above all, that I like you, but also that I want to be generous with you. So, I relate to the inner conflict of George Bailey to an extent.
I think this is one of the reasons I despise the teachings of Robert Schuler and company so much. They continually stress your personal happiness over that of others. This is not a “Liz you should do all of this and more to the point where your ITP relapses and you almost bleed to death.” And I am also not talking about, “Liz you need to be happy for my sinful lifestyle” thing either. I’m talking about sacrificing on a personal level for the good of others. And when we do sacrifice for the good of others, we should have no expectations of return on our sacrifice.
One of my girlfriends is involved in teaching teens to engage in peer ministry. When I told her about Josh’s extended orders back this winter, she wanted to know what she could do. I’m a fairly low maintenance mil spouse. So, I told her, “Teach your students to sacrifice of themselves for the good of others.”
Sometimes, when we obey God, when we sacrifice personally for the sake of others, our lives get even harder. So, what do we need to do? We need to, like George Bailey, open our eyes and see the blessings we are to others and pray that God will help us through our trials. But over all, yes, it is a wonderful life and I’m grateful to be able to live it.
As an aside, I have a couple of things going on that require my extra attention. So posting will be sparse for the next couple of weeks.
posted by Consecutive Odds @ 9:33 AM
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