Our Choices Make a Difference

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Lately, it feels like the world is sending the message that choosing to do the right thing, being a righteous person, is a death sentence to an exciting life. What a sad message to send to a generation that seems to be groping for clarity on the moral issues of the day.


Not too long ago, the media covered the story of a well known actress who stated “You can learn so much from bad things. I feel boring.  I feel like, why is everything so easy for me? I can’t wait for something to (bad word) happen to me. Just life. I want something to (more bad words) me over! Do you know what I mean?”

I found myself feeling disappointed by that statement.  I thought to myself, no, I don’t know what she means.  She’s a huge Hollywood movie star, how boring can her life be? 

As I thought about it more I began to wonder if she understood the impact her words could have on others, especially her young fans.  Why would she make such a statement knowing that there are millions of teenage girls that look up to her and dream of having such a life?  How will her ‘craving for something to excite her life’ make her fans feel about their own lives?  It is hard enough to be a good person; having influential people call you boring doesn’t help! 

Unfortunately, her statement is just a reflection of so many others.  Reality TV would have us believe that if our lives aren’t filled with drama then we are boring.  There are more shows about teen pregnancy, wild party lives, and corrupt organizations then there are about good people, doing good things.  Why is that?

This negative outlook on being good is nothing new.  It has been around for a while, but the growing movement to publicize it and make it seem normal is alarming to me. I worry about how all of this drama will affect the young people in the world.

I am not alone in my concern. Jack R. Christianson wrote a book titled “What’s so bad about being good?” The purpose of the book is to explore the benefits of being good and doing good. There were a few statements from the book that stood out to me as I was thinking about the messages the world is sending out:

We may not be able to change the world, but we can change our world.

By believing that human beings are of great worth, we can change the world.

A truly good person respects others as individuals of great worth; thus my fellow human beings are at least my equal and perhaps even my superior in some ways.

My life is my message ~ Gandhi

Did you notice a theme?  Good people tend to think about others.  They choose to make a positive difference in the lives of others.  It’s not all about them!

I am a Christian and so I believe in being like Christ.  He is the perfect example of what I can become. I am so grateful for the message His life gives, it is filled with hope.  What an important message that is so desperately needed in today’s society. What a great goal for all of us, to leave a message of hope through our lives.

I also believe that you don’t have to be a Christian to be a good person and do good. All people have the ability to do good, they just have to choose to do it. This means making a conscience effort to think about how our actions and words affect others we come in contact with.

I think our young actress got in trouble because she was thinking of herself.  It was about her experiences and not about what she could do for others.  She would soon come to regret the words she had stated.  We find her suffering the consequences for the “bad thing” she would choose to do.  She would cheat on her boyfriend with a married man.

There has been some serious backlash from the public that once adored her.  I wonder what she could have gained if she had chosen to use her influence to serve others and learn more about herself through positive experiences.  How many lives could she have influenced to do good by being a good example? She has only added to the lie that you must have drama in your life to be somebody. 

In contrast to the story of our young actress, I found the story of a seventeen year old young man named Helmuth Hubener.  He and two of his friends would fight the lies of the Nazi party during World War II by creating anti-Nazi pamphlets and placing them in public places for everyone to see. He chose to do the right thing in spite of the drama around him.  His hope was to share the truth so that the drama would end. I think he would have preferred a little more ‘boring’ and ‘easy’ in his life. Instead, he would use his talents and resources for good even if it meant the end of his life.  His choices still influence people today.

It is not my intention to embarrass or chastise the young actress, that would be judgmental and self righteous.  Instead I am trying to see the lesson that can be learned from her actions.  We have all made mistakes.  We will all suffer consequences.  We have an opportunity to learn from her mistake and hopefully not make the same one.

If Gandhi is right and our lives are our message, then now is a good time to decide what message we would like to leave.  We have the chance to stop and reflect on our own actions and decide if there are changes we need to make. It doesn’t matter if you are famous or living an ordinary ‘boring” life, your choices make a difference, they influence the people around you for good or bad. As the young actress said in her statement, “You can learn so much from the bad things”, while that is true, I believe you can learn so much more from the good things.