Every year during the Christmas season our family likes to watch the old Christmas classics like “It’s a Wonderful Life,””Miracle on 34th Street” and “The Bishop’s Wife.“ In “The Bishop’s Wife” the well-meaning but misguided bishop, Henry, dreams of constructing a monumental cathedral. He is obsessed with his dream and the movie begins as he prays for help. That’s when Dudley makes his appearance. He’s the angel that’s been sent to answer the bishop’s prayer. Obviously the bishop has a wife (hence the name of the movie) and her name is Julia. She plays a vital role in the film.
Though at first we believe that the bishop’s goal is admirable, we soon discover that Henry is so busy trying to raise contributions from his wealthy parishioners to fund his building scheme that he has forgotten what is truly important. We look at his life through his wife Julia’s eyes and come to realize that though his intentions seem righteous, he has in fact missed the mark. In his quest for glory and fame—albeit in the name of honoring the Savior—he has neglected those he is professing to help—his friends, former parishioners and mostly, his family.
With the help of the angel Dudley we come to see that Henry is in danger of losing everything that is most important in his life. He seeks temporal glory as the builder of the massive cathedral while neglecting eternally important relationships.
What’s my point? Do we sometimes find ourselves stuck in the same rut as the bishop? In our pursuit of material possessions that will bring us fame and glory—or at the very least extreme comfort and pleasure—do we neglect what matters most? Do we put the same effort into building our relationships with our spouse and our children and other family members as we do in gathering “things”? Do we treat our neighbor as ourself? How do we treat our co-workers? What about our fellow man–the sick and afflicted, the poor and the imprisoned?
Obviously, we need to work and provide for our needs and those of our family, but how much do we need? Have our wants masqueraded as needs and taken over our lives and our pocketbooks? How much is enough? We might be making the same mistake as Henry as we rationalize our behavior which has the appearance of righteous motivation. When we have enough, it’s time to share. Let’s not make Henry’s mistake and spend our lives in pursuit of earthly treasure. After all, as Luke reminds us,
“one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15).
Let’s turn our focus away from ourselves and look to those who truly need what we have to give.
This is an article by Carolyn Johnston – Co-Author of the new book Power Spending: Getting More For Less
Thank you for raising these important questions. One of my desires for this upcoming year is to give glory to God with my life. A lot of times it’s hard not to seek glory for ourselves – and not to realize we’re doing it, especially when we have good intentions. I earnestly pray that the Lord will help me in this area so I won’t be self-seeking, but that I will seek His glory first so that I will not lose sight of what is important.
Sounds like a great movie. I need to check it out on Netflix. I think it’s easy to get caught up material possessions. Have you read Randy Alcorn’s The Treasure Principle?
Thank you for writing this article and bringing this issue to the forefront. I certainly have been guilty of doing this and didn’t even realize it. Sad, isn’t it? As I have been decluttering our home I see just how much I over consumed and can honestly say I am a bit suprised.
How many coffee cups are enough? Apparently I never stopped to consider I had enough and really don’t need dozens of cups for some type of entertaining that never happens. It is a small example of the nonsense I was up to and I hope I have put that chapter of my life behind me.
Excellent points. You have really given me something to think about. Could I be spending more time and effort worrying about the things that don’t matter as much as my relationship with God and my family?