‘It’s a Wonderful Life’: Pursuing Duty over Self-Indulgence

By Wesley Strackbein

When push comes to shove, what prevails in your heart: the indulging of self in the moment or the faithful pursuit of your duties over time?

This question hit home to me last December when our family watched the classic Frank Capra film, It’s a Wonderful Life (1946). The heartwarming story of George Bailey’s struggles in Bedford Falls is a familiar one, beloved by many, yet I was struck by how his example runs counter to the grain of our sin nature and our culture’s selfish priorities. While the notions of how angels operate, as portrayed by the bumbling Clarence Odbody, Angel 2^nd Class, wouldn’t pass a test of biblical orthodoxy, Bailey’s years-long testimony of personal sacrifice for the good of others offers much that is profitable to ponder.

Consider these telling plot points. In 1928, as 21-year-old George is planning to depart for a special tour of the world before attending college, his father dies from an unexpected stroke. Rather than leave his family in the lurch, George postpones his trip. Part of the fallout from his father’s death is that local nemesis Henry Potter threatens to dissolve the Bailey Brothers Building and Loan, which his father had managed for years, but the rest of the board, with whom Potter serves, overrules the old curmudgeon, so long as George consents to runs it. George agrees, but with this decision, he has to also put off his plans for college, giving his tuition to his younger brother Harry to go to school in his stead. One condition by George: Harry must agree to take the reins of the Building and Loan once he graduates.

When Harry graduates four years later, he is ready to fulfill his commitment, but when George realizes that his newly-married brother has a better opportunity with Harry’s father-in-law, George releases him from his obligation and keeps plodding forward with the Building and Loan. George then marries Mary Hatch, and as they prepare to depart on their honeymoon in the midst of the Great Depression, there’s a run on the bank, and rather than see the business fold, George cancels his planned honeymoon and sacrifices his $2,000 savings (equivalent to $40,000 in 2019) to keep it solvent.¹

At every turn when George could have pursued his own self-gratification, he chose to embrace duty first, acting to fill his father’s empty shoes and putting the well-being of the citizens of Bedford Falls ahead of his own personal pleasure.

‘Live for Now’ vs. Christ’s Example of Self-Sacrifice

Contrast this message with Pepsi Cola’s recent “Live for Now” campaign. The popular slogan helmed their global ad campaign which ran from 2012 to 2019. The Huffington Post reported, “The company press release on the campaign called [“Live for Now”] a ‘central governing idea for the brand globally’ and ‘the way Pepsi behaves as a brand.’”² Two lines from pop star Nicki Minaj’s song, “Moment 4 Life” served as the campaign’s initial musical anthem:

I wish that I could have this moment for life, for life, for life.

Cuz in this moment I just feel so alive, alive, alive.³

The ads that followed proffered variations on this theme. The official marketing for a 2015 TV commercial featured this ad copy from the Pepsi team, “Pepsi wants you to live in the moment. Watch as a group of friends throw a rooftop party with a live band, dance all day and karaoke all night. Grab a refreshing Pepsi from the cooler, hold your mic and live for now.”⁴ The ad itself featured these text lines: “Don’t Rehearse; Create Some Noise; Make Them Stare; Live for Now.”⁵

Imagine if “live for now” had been the “wonderful life” George Bailey chased after. He would have left his family and Bedford Falls in the dust to seek out the dazzling sights and sounds of the world. He would have pursued his college education at the expense of his father’s legacy and let others pick up the pieces of the failed Building and Loan. Bedford Falls would have become “Potterville,” with the crotchety Henry Potter exploiting those the Baileys had helped for his own selfish enrichment.

More importantly, imagine if Jesus Christ had chosen His heavenly comfort over the arduous path of sacrificing His life for lost sinners. We would not simply be deprived of the kindness of a warm-hearted banker, as the fictional character of George Bailey was toward the citizens of Bedford Falls; we would be eternally condemned for our sins.⁶

While Christ’s role in history as the only means for salvation is singular, the Scriptures direct us not to act selfishly, but to dutifully serve others, as He did:

Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Phil. 2:4-8)⁷

Fear God and Keep His Commandments: The Whole Duty of Man

In light of Christ’s example, there are many specific duties we have to God and our fellow man that we might discuss, but in the remainder of this article, my aim is to flesh out a basic grid of how we should view our duties, as well as to identify some major pitfalls we should avoid in carrying them out.

After describing the futility of living for one’s on pleasure, King Solomon closes the book of Ecclesiastes with this trenchant summary:

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. (Eccles. 12:13-14)⁸

Notice that the “fear of God” is square one in Solomon’s statement. The reason that it comes first in the discussion on duty is that it speaks to our heart motivations of why we do what we do. We can outwardly “check boxes” of do’s and don’ts, as the Pharisees were well known for, and not be compelled by a genuine and reverent longing to please God. This is why the “fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Ps. 86:10). It is to be the governing commitment that drives our every thought and move.

To put the matter succinctly, the fear of God comes about chiefly when we recognize who God is and humbly see who we are in light of His greatness. It results in us sincerely desiring to do His will. Charles Bridges explains:

What it is this fear of the Lord? It is that affectionate reverence, by which the child of God bends himself humbly and carefully to his Father’s law. . . . that hence springs an earnest desire to please him, and because of the danger of coming short from his own weakness and temptations — a holy watchfulness and fear, “that he might not sin against him” (Heb. 12:28, 29). This enters into every exercise of the mind, every object of life.⁹

The Fulfilling of the Law: Loving God and Our Neighbor

As we move to Solomon’s second prong of our duty — to “keep his commandments” — we turn to Christ’s summary of this point. In response to this question by a Pharisee, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus answered,

‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets (Matt. 22:36-40).¹⁰

In considering Christ’s statement, what should immediately leap off the page is that our actions are not to be self-centered, but are to be anchored in our love for others. The whole keeping of the law is defined by a love for God and our neighbor. Every directive of life found in “the law and the prophets” connects back to this first principle. The exaltation and pleasing of self is nowhere to be found here. Our duties, by definition, have an others orientation that must not be missed.

Even as the fear of God prompts a posture of humility before our Maker and a fervent desire to please Him, love propels us toward obedience as well. The Apostle John explains that if we love God, we will “keep [His] commandments” (John 14:15). It’s a tell-tale sign that we belong to Him: “whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him” (1 John 4:5).

Love for our neighbor also spawns tangible results, compelling us to act in their best interest. The Apostle Paul draws this cause-and-effect into sharp focus:

Owe no man any thing, but to love one another; for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. (Rom. 13:8-10)¹¹

Prideful Self-Love: Doing Our Duty for the Wrong Reasons

When we truly love God and our neighbor, we treat them as they ought to be treated, and we do our duties to them for the right reasons.

It’s easy for us to lose sight of this, however, and make the doing of our duties as an end in itself which fosters personal pride. We like to think of how “faithful” we are. Rather than maintaining a humble heart of service that is prompted by true love for others, we prefer, instead, to love ourselves.

The Scriptures have much to say about this danger. Christ’s Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican pointedly illustrates how those “doing the right things” can easily fall prey to this trap.

Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, ‘God be merciful to me a sinner.’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. (Luke 18:10-14)

Yet another example is that of the older brother in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, who chafed at his father’s warm reception of his wayward brother who had humbly returned home. Upon hearing the “musick and dancing” as he neared the house and learning that his father had “killed the fatted calf” in celebration of his younger brother’s repentance, he angrily refused to take part in the festivities (Luke 15:25-28), declaring this to his father in contempt:

Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf (Luke 15:29-30).

The older brother’s antics are utterly selfish. Rather than rejoice at his brother’s homecoming following years of rebellion, he complains that his father hadn’t duly recognized and rewarded him for his years of dedicated service. The lack of sincere love here expressed toward his father and brother points to prideful self-love on his part that is at direct odds with the commandment to love our neighbor as our self.

What True Love Fuels: Abhorring What Is Evil, Cleaving to What Is Good

The Apostle Paul roundly condemns such improper and feigned “love” in this thoughtful admonishment: “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another” (Rom. 12:9-10).¹²

In commenting on this text, John Calvin hits the nail on the head:

It is indeed difficult to express how ingenious almost all men are to pretend a love which they really have not, for they not only deceive others, but impose also on themselves, while they persuade themselves that those are not loved amiss by them, whom they not only neglect, but really slight. . . . [Paul] enjoins what is especially necessary, that all disguises are to be cast aside, and that love is to arise from pure sincerity of mind.¹³

In expounding on the need to cast aside hypocritical love, Paul makes a vital application we must not miss: “Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good” (Rom. 12:9). When insincerity creeps in, we can easily succumb to gratifying self rather than abhorring what is evil. If we don’t keep our duties to love God and others at the fore of our thoughts, our hearts can quickly give way to vice rather than cleaving to holy virtue.

When such temptations arise, we must reject the escapist “live for now” notion and firmly embrace our duties to love God and our neighbor, with the fear of the Lord suffusing our inmost being. In explaining the meaning of the word translated “cleave” or “cling” in this passage, commentator Adam Clarke brings the point home: “Be cemented or glued to that which is good; so the word literally signifies. Have an unalterable attachment to whatever leads to God, and contributes to the welfare of your fellow creatures.”¹⁴

Balancing Our Competing Duties: An Ongoing Challenge

Even as we are all prone to hypocrisy, we also struggle to keep competing duties in proper balance. Though children tend to be carefree and unweighted by such concerns, any busy adult will admit that these burdens can be challenging. We’ve all been there, in one way or another, and gotten our priorities out of kilter.

It’s the hard-working dad, trying to pay the bills, who ends up neglecting the spiritual needs of his family. It’s the busy mom, laboring to keep the house clean and food on the table, who falls short in seemingly little moments when her children need her special attention. It’s the driven pastor or layman, rushing to get through their daily checklist, who skirts past a real personal need of someone right in front of them to meet a more “important deadline.”

The Gospel of Luke gives us a helpful reality check for this struggle over conflicting priorities. The story is a familiar one:

Now it happened as they went that [Jesus] entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42)¹⁵ 

Serving a good meal to Christ was a fine thing to do, but Martha’s emphasis was off base. She was miffed that Mary was at Jesus’ feet, listening to Him, rather than helping her, but Jesus explained that focusing on His word was more essential than them enjoying the perfect dining experience together. Calvin remarks:

The hospitality of Martha was faulty in this respect, that she neglected the main business, and devoted herself entirely to household affairs. And yet Christ does not mean that every thing else, with the exception of this one thing, is of no importance, but that we must pay a proper attention to order, lest what is accessory . . . become our chief concern.¹⁶

Grappling with competing duties is an ongoing challenge that will never be easy, yet we must take special care to make the most important things “our chief concern” and let “what is accessory” come after them.

Conclusion

So where do you stand on the spectrum of duty and self-indulgence? When the chips are down, does the lure to “live for now” triumph, or does sacrificing for others win the day?

What really motivates you? Are you simply checking obligation boxes for your own satisfaction and acclaim — or does true love spur you on to obey God and serve your fellow man?

In life’s intense tug-of-war, we must not forget what really matters. George Bailey’s character reminds us that the “wonderful life” is not spent in gratifying ourselves, but in giving our all for others. This is what Christ did, forsaking glory for the cross so that we might be freed from sin and be saved.

His example ought to stir our hearts to duty. Even as He fulfilled the law of love, so too must we:

This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:12-13)