I’m not a movie person. I could count on one hand the number of movies I’ve seen the last five years (Unless you count The Princess Bride, which I watch at least once a month because it’s the greatest movie of all time).
So, my friends set out on a personal mission to broaden my cinematic horizons.
They decided I need to be initiated into the world of DC Comics. So, we watched the Superman movie, Man of Steel. (That’s DC, right? I’m honestly not sure.)
Though most of the movie focused on Clark Kent's adulthood ventures, the story would sometimes cut to defining moments in his childhood.
In one scene, a young Clark is being bullied by some older kids. Having already discovered his supernatural strength, Clark knows that he could take them out faster than a speeding bullet. But he doesn't. Instead, he resists the urge to fight back. Just as they're about to pound him, Clark's dad shows up and the bullies run off.
Clark, who had been cornered against a chain link fence, gets up and says, "I wanted to hit that kid. I wanted to hit him so bad." His dad nods. "I know you did. I mean, part of me even wanted you to. But then what?"
And he says something profound.
"You have to decide what kind of a man you're going to grow up to be, Clark. Because whoever that man is, good character or bad, he is going to change the world."
His dad saw in him both an enormous potential for good and an enormous capacity for evil. And he understood that every decision would be a step towards one or the other. But either way, Clark Kent was destined to change things.
And so are you. Every day, with the choices you make, you are deciding what kind of man (or woman) you are going to be. And good character or bad, you too change the world.
You change the world of your spouse, of your kids, of your friends and your co-workers and your neighbors.
The question, then, is whether or not you will change things for better or for worse. Will you grow into the man or woman you were made to be, walking in step with the One who made you? Or will you walk away from Him and, by extension, oppose His plan and purpose for your life? There is no third option. Every single decision you make- even the most seemingly unimportant- is a step towards one or the other.
But make no mistake. Good character or bad, you will change the world.
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