“Are we just supposed to go back to normal?” A friend of mine asked this question as we poured our Monday morning coffee in the break room. It had only been five days since Charlie Kirk was publicly assassinated. A potent sense of the need for action permeated the room; it was in the air, and it still is. Not just in North Idaho, either, friends from a wide range of locations all independently described to me a longing to do something. This is for good reason.
Shortly after Charlie Kirk was murdered, the Left celebrated because, according to them, he was a “racist bigot.” The refrain ‘I Am Charlie Kirk’ broke out as many realized that their hatred for Charlie Kirk, a moderate and kind man, meant that they were wanted dead by the Left. Not only did they kill a husband and father for wanting to converse with them, but they also effectively communicated that they want to take you from your family and dance with glee on your grave.
They declared war on the Right. This is not debatable.
With that in mind, it’s no wonder that in the wake of this tragedy, so many were left with a spinning head, wondering if they needed to make a change. Many were, and still are, questioning their current circumstances and wondering, “What am I doing with my life?” That’s not a bad question to ask yourself, especially if you’re asking it honestly, but there are ditches on either side of this road. As Advent dawns and George Bailey makes his yearly appearance on the movie screen, I want to use him as an example of how to evaluate your current station.
Godly Ambition
George Bailey always had big dreams. He wanted to go to college, build skyscrapers, travel the world, and accomplish big things. But the early death of his father thrust him into a world of responsibility before he could fulfill any of these desires. These responsibilities seemingly robbed him of numerous opportunities, sending George Bailey down a dark path of resentment. George watched as his friends started successful companies and his brother became a war hero, all while he was stuck trying to keep the building and loan afloat and fighting a corrupt institution.
Some think the solution for George was to put his ambition to death, but that is wrong. See, George Bailey’s ambition was good, but a lack of contentment clouded his vision. He wasn’t in as bad a spot as he thought. After all, as Aaron Renn pointed out, he ran one of the top financial institutions in town. He was the bedrock of Bedford Falls and, in many ways, kept the town intact as he provided affordable housing for its citizens. George couldn’t see it until the end, but he was an example of elite human capital as he stewarded what God had placed before him. When George was under the spell of discontentment, he was unable to see that his dreams of doing something important were right under his nose. He had become his father, whom he looked up to as the most important man in town, and in the end, he became the richest man in town.
Your ambition is good. Your desire to do something important is good. But looking at life through a lens of discontentment will ruin any chance you have at being successful as you valiantly chase those desires. It is quite possible, maybe even probable, that you’re itching to do something bigger because you have sacrificed your ambition on the altar of comfort. It is also possible that you are really in a good spot, but the cataracts of discontentment need to be removed for you to see that. It could be the case that you have disguised your cowardice as contentment so that you can justify not taking that job. It could also be the case that you are already in the best place.
Mortifying discontentment in your heart will grant you clarity on whether or not you are using escapist fantasies to cope with discontentment or wisely strategizing how to utilize your short time here on earth.
Replaceability
As George Bailey walks through the alternative reality wherein he had never been born, he realizes that he was irreplaceable in his community. His brother died as a child, his wife became an old maid, and the town was lost to the evil Mr. Potter. Having realized his importance, George, played brilliantly by the great Jimmy Stewart, earnestly says ‘I want to live again!”
It is a touching story. One meant to inspire those who are discontent with their ordinary lives. But it’s worth asking— are you irreplaceable? George Bailey was objectively irreplaceable in his community. Are you? His importance was objectively found to be far beyond ordinary. Is yours? Granted, you can’t explore an alternative reality with your guardian angel, but you can be honest with yourself. Of course, in light of providence, none of us is irreplaceable, but we can’t read God’s decree, so we shouldn’t try.
Conclusion
God has given each man gifts and desires, and in His providence, He provides opportunities for a man to utilize and fulfill them respectively. These things must be evaluated in the context of a community of men not given to flattery. Do you desire to get into politics in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder? Ask your brothers in arms whether or not they think you have the gifts necessary to do that kind of work. Want to become a pastor? Ask your elders and family to give you an honest appraisal of whether or not you are cut out for the job. Alongside these considerations is whether or not there is any opportunity in these areas. You may be gifted in a particular area, but have you landed any job offers? You may have talked your way into a job offer, but are you gifted?
At the intersection of gifting and opportunity is where you will find yourself giving the most value to this world, if you have the courage to follow through.
