The Reluctant Servant

There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, “Son, go and work today in the vineyard.” "I will not,” he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, “I will, sir,” but he did not go. Which of the two did what his father wanted? Matthew 21:28-31

Saturday night, I sat down for the first time to watch the perennial holiday favorite, “It’s A Wonderful Life”. (Never mind that I have owned the movie on video for 8 or 9 years; but, I must confess, I have never watched the whole show from beginning to end until now.) I have seen the ending probably a million times, but I always seem to pick up the film where George is about to jump off the bridge so that his family can collect the life insurance. Thus, all these years, I have missed the main theme of the movie – sacrificial servanthood!

When George Bailey graduated high school, he wanted to set the world on fire. With the money he had saved, he wanted to tour foreign lands and then return to college to get his education so that he could make a difference in the world by building skyscrapers and a “bridge a mile long”. He wanted more than anything to escape the small town life, and his father’s building and loan. However, when his father died, he put his plans on hold and took over the business. He used his savings to send his younger brother, Harry, to college. For 4 years he anticipated his brother’s return so that Harry could take over the business and George could finally escape, but, again, he encouraged his brother to take a better job with his father-in-law and George abandoned his dreams and continued to run the business in order to avoid the evil Mr. Potter from devouring the building and loan. Then, George married his sweetheart, and, just when they were about to leave on their honeymoon, the depression hit and the townspeople flocked to the building and loan to withdraw their money. After explaining that there was not enough money in the vault to satisfy every depositor, George and Mary used their own money, set aside for their honeymoon, to tide the citizens over, foregoing their anticipated honeymoon.

Throughout the years that I have seen the end of the story, I knew it represented that we never know how many lives we touch, but all those years, I missed the true moral of the story…he made a difference in the lives of all those he touched because he was willing to sacrifice his dreams for the good of others.

While watching, I was immediately reminded of the story in Matthew 21 where the son told his father “no”, but was obedient none-the-less. This is exactly what our Father asks of us. After all, this is exactly what He asked of His own Son, and His Son was obedient unto death!

We may be reluctant or even defiant, but in the end, God asks us to be obedient and to put the needs of others above our own desires. Then, He promises, that it will truly be a WONDERFUL LIFE!