In
the classic film "It's a Wonderful
Life" Jimmy Stewart plays George Bailey, a
young man who goes through a serious crisis in
managing his deceased father's savings and loan.
He comes to doubt his own worth to anyone, and
concludes that it would have been better for the
world if he had never lived. While Bailey is
contemplating suicide, his guardian angel appears
and reveals to him just what the world would have
been like without him. The difference is
remarkable. Because he wasn't there to save his
brother's life when they were children, his
brother wasn't around to save the lives of many
sailors during World War II. And without his
efforts to make loans available to working-class
people, many had to bring up their families in
sordid conditions.
The theme of the film is an
important one, for it reminds us of how easily we
can lose sight of our importance to others, and
can how we can greatly underrate the significance
of our own life.
The longing for a sense of
significance is probably the most intense desire
that we carry through life. We each want to know
that we're making an impact on the world, and
that our efforts are really needed. Without this
conviction, like George Bailey, we become
despondent. Add to this a serious personal
crisis, and the deep-thinking person may lose the
will to live. Thus, when Joan Rivers' husband,
Edgar Rosenberg, committed suicide, he left a
note saying he was tired of being "a
liability."
The yearning for significance is
present and strong even in small children. One of
the most distressing thoughts experienced by
children who are terminally ill is that they will
be denied the opportunity to accomplish something
worthwhile with their life.
In their
book In Search of Excellence Thomas Peters
and Robert Waterman note that we each want to do
work which isn't just necessary but unique.* Each of us longs to be
the best in some area, regardless of how small.
We want to know that what we accomplish cannot
easily be duplicated by someone else, and that
our efforts are truly essential to a task. We
find it deflating to think we're filling a role
that someone else could handle just as well. We
long not merely to be successful but distinctive
in what we accomplish.
The Challenge of Gaining a
Sense of Significance
During the twentieth century it
has become increasingly difficult for individuals
in America to find a sense of significance in
their work. The nature of professional work has
changed radically during the past hundred years.
In 1898 ninety-percent of our population was
self-employed, compared to ten-percent today. The
result is that most of us are in jobs where our
work is only one small part of a big process. Not
only do we lack the hands-on satisfaction of
seeing a piece of work through from beginning to
end, but we're painfully aware of how easily we
can be replaced.
Another problem is the way in
which the modern media heightens our tendency to
compare ourselves unfairly with others. While the
lightening-fast display of information that we
receive through television, radio, the press and
the Internet benefits us in many ways, it also
can have a demeaning effect upon us. Were
constantly exposed to the notable achievements of
gifted individuals throughout the world--and are
easily left feeling that our own gifts and
accomplishments are insignificant by comparison.
Regardless of how impressively we master a skill
or achieve a goal, we only have to turn on the
television or pick up the morning paper to find
real-life examples of those who have surpassed
us. The pool of individuals to whom we can
compare ourselves is expanded to a degree that
would have boggled the minds of the best
prognosticators only a generation or two ago.
While some healthy humility can
result from this increased awareness, it can also
lead to a sense of futility about our life that
is most unjustified. Like the servant who hid his
talent in Jesus' parable, we miss the special
gifts and opportunities that we do have and,
instead, wallow in our own insignificance.
Made to Be the Best
Because the inclination to
belittle our own significance is so great, we
need a powerful theological perspective to
counteract it. Fortunately, Scripture provides us
with an extraordinary basis for a positive view
of our own distinctiveness. We see the examples
of hundreds of men and women who had hearts for
God, and did his will, yet lived profoundly
individual lives. Never do we sense that God
intended any of them to be copies of any other.
Among them we see radically different mixes of
gifts and personality features, and strikingly
different circumstances in which they were called
to serve the Lord. They each had a part to play
in biblical history that couldn't be carried out
by anyone else.
In addition, Scripture teaches
explicitly that God creates each of us uniquely
with distinctive purposes in mind. One of the
most enlightening statements to this effect is
given in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6. Paul begins a
lengthy section on spiritual gifts by declaring,
"Now there are varieties of gifts, but the
same Spirit: and there are varieties of service,
but the same Lord; and there are varieties of
working, but it is the same God who inspires them
all in every one." In this passage Paul
notes three ways in which God endows each of our
lives distinctively-- through "gifts"
(our special talents and potential), through
"service" (our particular opportunities
for serving Christ), and through
"working" (literally, energizing
in the Greek, meaning the unique ways God
inspires and motivates us individually).
One irresistible conclusion from
this biblical teaching on our distinctiveness is
that God enables each of us to be the best
at certain points. While we may not have any
single talent or endowment that is extraordinary
in itself, we each have a combination of
features and opportunities that is
unduplicated--enabling us to accomplish certain
work, and relate to certain people, in ways that
no one else can do as well. Yes, we may end up in
jobs or roles that others could fulfill just as
adequately. Still, within them we'll be the best
at meeting the needs of certain people at certain
times.
We also have a basis for seeing
our life, and our value to others, in terms of
more than just one job or position that we
fulfill. While my professional work may have me
doing routine tasks, for instance, I may perform
a more unique function in my service for my
church, or through a hobby, or in my role within
my family. I can tolerate routineness in some
areas if I know that in others I have the chance
to be myself more authentically. Indeed, I can be
grateful for the routineness, for it leaves me
with greater creative energy to carry out the
work that I find more rewarding.
I have a basis, too, for
maintaining vision and hope for my future. If God
has created me to be the best in certain areas,
then there's purpose in my striving over time to
develop my gifts and improve my circumstances, so
that my life will better reflect the
distinctiveness God has given me.
Your Life's Hidden Impact
Beyond the wonderfully refreshing
teaching on our personal distinctiveness, there
is another biblical theme that is vital to having
a sense of significance. Scripture shows time and
again that there is a ripple effect to what we do
for Christ. The theme of It's a Wonderful
Life, while relevant to everyone, has special
significance for the Christian. Sometimes the
most seemingly insignificant act of obedience to
Christ in time has far-reaching effects, far
beyond what we expect or recognize. It's the
truth of Mark 4:31-32 applied to the life of the
individual: "the kingdom of God . . . is
like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed
you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it
grows and becomes the largest of all garden
plants, with such big branches that the birds of
the air can perch in its shade."
The conversion of Tom Skinner is
a dramatic example of how this ripple effect can
work. During his lifetime, Skinner touched the
lives of countless people through his ministry,
winning many to Christ, inspiring many believers
to deeper faith, and encouraging racial
understanding among Christians. Yet this former
Harlem gang leader attributed his own conversion
to a radio message that he described as bungling,
which he caught unintentionally one evening as he
was preparing the strategy for a gang war. Though
Skinner tried earnestly, he was never able to
find out who the preacher was who gave this
message, and that man apparently never knew that
his humble talk had changed the life of one who
became one of the twentieth century's leading
evangelistic voices.
God not only has a distinctive
plan for each of our lives, but uses our efforts
in ways that vastly exceed our perception. We
need to meditate often on these thoughts. Like
the guardian angel in Stewart's film, Christ
wants to help us better appreciate the value of
our life to others and the impact we can have.
While the possibility of taking our own
importance too seriously is always there, for
most of us the greater danger lies in
underestimating our potential. Christ wants to
encourage us and give us greater vision for our
life.
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