The Greatest Showman and lessons about life

*DISCLAIMER/SPOILER* If you haven’t seen the movie, “The Greatest Showman”, stop everything, go watch it and then read what’s below. It’s probably one of the best movies to come out in recent years and it’s incredible! If you have, let’s continue..

There’s a scene in the movie that especially caught my attention. P.T. Barnum’s show has just sold out and the crowd loved it. But as he was celebrating at home with his wife and daughters, his wife begins to question why he is doing all that  he’s doing. He says that it’s for their kids, for her and their future together. 

But as most wives, mine included, she lovingly but firmly tells him the truth. He wasn’t working so hard for them but for himself. They bought a huge house in the same neighborhood as his father in law, who despised P.T. He put their daughters in the best school. He’s made a lot of money. And finally, he admits that he doesn’t want their kids to deal with what he had to. Having people treat them as less than. He was proving a point.

But as I watched the movie, I saw something in P.T. that I didn’t expect to see...

Myself. 

I saw a man who was working overtime to try and prove something to the people around him. I think we can all relate to this at some point. Myself included.

Whether it’s working really hard to get the promotion, buying a certain type of car, marrying a certain person or even posting all of the #blessed highlights of life on social media, it seems like we at times want to prove to others that we have it all together.

The sad part about that lifestyle is that nothing is ever enough. No amount of money, success or likes on Facebook will be enough until you get the approval of the people you are wanting to notice you. 

But what if there is a different way to live? What  if, instead of proving a point to others, we realized the truth about life. That on your best day, you can’t earn the acceptance you are looking for. But you can receive it. Whether you believe in Him or not (and it’s ok if you aren’t sure), you can find the approval and acceptance in Christ that you may be looking for. 

You no longer have to live to prove a point to anyone. You can simply just receive the fact that because of Jesus and what He did for us on the cross, you are accepted. You just have to receive it. If you want to know more about that, feel free to email me at t.hodges56@yahoo.com. If not, thanks for reading.

Until next time..