A Life Devoted: Reflections on Disney’s Follow Me Boys!
Lemuel Siddons (Fred MacMurray) is a middle-aged traveling saxophone player passively studying to be a lawyer. He has no real roots and lives a carefree life. However, on his band's way to Chicago, he finds himself taken with the small town of Hickory and a certain bank clerk named Vida Downey (Vera Miles). Lem decides to stay and establish roots. The trouble with Hickory is that the young boys need a positive outlet to stay out of trouble. To impress Vida, at a town hall meeting, Lem offers to head up a Boy Scout troop. The rest is history. Lem devotes his life to Troop 1 of Hickory's Boy Scouts. He and Vida get married and, unable to have their children, adopt a troubled boy named Whitey (Kurt Russell). He works as a stock boy and eventually a clerk at a store. Over the years, the two pour their lives into multiple generations of young boys.
Lem never becomes a lawyer. Despite having his day in court where he is representing a dear friend, his income and status in the grand scheme of things remains modest. His seemingly insignificant life is dedicated to the boys of his small town. As he ages, his health declines. Whitey, who is now a successful doctor, tells him that he needs to give up the Boy Scouts. Lem had dedicated his entire life to those boys, and what did he have to show for it? In the end, Lems sees the powerful effect his time, energy, and heart made in the lives of many boys and their families -- changing their lives in ways he couldn't imagine. In the spirit of It's a Wonderful Life, Follow Me Boys is a classic story that shows what impact a single life of devotion can have.
People may find themselves between two polar extremes. On the one end is the hero's complex, which leaves them to believe they are the chosen ones who will right all the wrongs in our world. The other extreme finds a person who feels that nothing they do matters. As believers in Christ, we must rise above the dichotomy of these two extremes. In reality, we are, as Bob Dillon puts it, "dust in the wind." Our lives are but a vapor. By our own qualifications, we are truly insignificant finite creatures in the grand scheme of reality and eternity. However, because of Christ, we have infinite value and our lives and eternal purpose.
Our lives have a purpose. The purpose isn't to achieve wealth or fame or experience as much pleasure as possible but to glorify God in everyday life. We glorify God by loving and obeying his commandments in holiness through everyday quiet yet devoted lives. (1Thess 4:3-12) Any positive impact that we will have in our world and the lives of those around us comes from faithfully following Christ, day in and day out.
Follow Me Boys is a visual demonstration of the amount of impact a devoted life can have. A Christian's life is no different. Believers are the workmanship of God. (Ephesians 2:10) Like individual notes on a musical composition, the small, seemingly mundane tasks compose a lifetime when we live for Christ. What you're doing doesn't matter in the grand scheme, but you can devote every moment to what matters the most.