Another View of “It’s A Wonderful Life”
Our Worth. Last week, Heather and I watched the classic movie It’s A Wonderful Life. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen this movie, but it’s been more than a few. The traditional lesson from this movie is that everyone is important. Everyone touches many lives over the course of their “three score and ten” or whatever our lifespan becomes. The Bible tells us this in Matthew 10:29-31 “Are two sparrows not sold for a penny? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not fear; you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.” God cares for even the least.
And, of course, Romans 5:8 affirms our value when Paul wrote “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” You might ask “Why?” Simply, “God IS love.” (I John 4:8).” Love is His being. Christ died for our sins because he loves us so much. Pause here and ponder that last sentence. How many people would die for you?
Potter Versus Bailey. As I watched the movie this year, I saw something different. At one level in this movie we have Henry Potter as the bad guy or antagonist (How many of you knew his name was Henry?). Potter “stole” the deposit for the Building and Loan. Subsequently , Potter appealed to George’s materialistic side, offering him a job at a large salary. Always looking out for himself, few would have any sympathy for Potter, but the fact remains he was the power broker and he pretty much ran the town, constrained only by a few such as George. Potter lacked compassion. He only cared for himself.
On the other hand we have George Bailey with dreams of traveling the world as the protagonist. They were constantly squaring off. Potter is always trying to get rid of George but never succeeds. George has given up his dreams to run the Building and Loan and feels like a failure. When Clarence (the angel) is dispatched to earth to help George, he strategically shows George how the town of Bedford Falls would have fared if George had never lived. George was aghast when he saw that it was now Pottersville. The bar was rowdy, there was all sorts of illicit entertainment downtown. Bailey Park wasn’t there – it was a cemetery.
Evil Prevails for Now. As I was watching the final few minutes of the movie, I realized that it showed what happens in our lives when good is restrained or eliminated. Potter took control and tightened his grip on the town. Potter represents all that is evil. He uses the tricks of Satan to convince people that he seeks their best. He plays the nice guy until he gets them in his grasp.
George represents the good in life. I am not comparing him to Jesus by any means, but George spent his life in a Christian manner. Helping people, giving up his dreams so that he could serve and help the people of Bedford Falls.
This is not dissimilar to what will actually occur sometime in the future. After Jesus raptures the saints, good basically vanishes from the earth and it will experience the Great Tribulation – seven years of Satan ruling over the earth. Seven years of unimaginable evil. But in the end, Christ will return and begin His millennial reign. The Lamb will be replaced by the Lion. Satan will be conquered and sent into an eternity in Hell.
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All scripture, unless otherwise indicated, is from the NASB translation.
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