Holidays offer time to reflect on how meaningless or meaningful your life is.
Are you shuffling through the motions or sparkling with great purpose?
One provocative movie may hold a clue for your future.
No one under 16 should see this film because the first 20 minutes open with one of the most terrifying reenactments of a battle that has ever been filmed. The trauma in the opening scene is so great that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs set up a toll-free hotline in 1998 for veterans and their families.
The movie moves through the eyes of Captain John Miller who is played by Tom Hanks.
He leads eight soldiers to locate and save a Private Ryan who…
- they do not know
- they never heard of
- they knew nothing about
- was not a friend of any of theirs
One Private is to be rescued by eight men.
The reason he was to be saved was because his three brothers had been killed in combat and the War Department (back in the day) made a decision that he should be found and brought home.
Three questions everyone should answer
Having watched this movie many times, I’m struck by it’s moral questions.
- Why were eight called to risk their life for one?
- How much is one man’s life worth?
- How much is one nation’s life worth?
How much?
- Not a General
- Not a Colonel
- Not a Lieutenant
- Not a Major
- Not even a PFC
A Private.
Captain Miller and the majority of the 8 were mortally wounded saving Private Ryan.
His final words in the film as he looked at Private Ryan were these…
“James, earn this. Earn it.” Tom Hanks as Captain Miller in Saving Private Ryan
In other words, “Men have died for you. Now, live a life worthy of their sacrifice.”
So, why do millions go to serve in places like…
- Iwo Jima
- Afghanistan
- Iraq
They do it because of an inbred commitment to other people.
Many give their lives every day to Private Ryans they don’t know.
Put a new spark in your family and work
The first question mankind ever asks God in the Bible is startling.
“Am I my brother’s keeper?” Genesis 4:9
The history of the Bible says yes.
Everyone is immensely valuable whether…
- sharing a dinner table
- working in a law office
- selling shoes at the mall
In a world that crushes others to get the gold, why not see our fellow man as the gold?
The movie Saving Private Ryan is not just a story about America.
It’s a story about God and us.
All of us need to be rescued. All of us are Privates.
We are the gold. Don’t ya think?
Great one Steve
Good to hear from you Bruce. Happy Thanksgiving!