Do What You Can

The movie, Schindler’s List, tells the true story of Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who hired some Jewish people to work for him. When he saw the Nazis go into one of their ghettos and shoot these people down in cold blood, Schindler was deeply moved and decided to spend the rest of his life trying to save Jewish people. And he was quite successful.

At the end of the film, the war had come to an end, Schindler’s factory had shut down, and he had saved more than 1,000 Jewish people. But Schindler lamented to his accountant and business partner Itzhak Stern that he wished he could have done more. He felt that he didn’t do enough.

I have heard it said, "I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And what I can do, I ought to do. And what I ought to do, by the grace of God, I will do."

Some young person may give up a promising career to go to the mission field in a developing nation, and people might say, "What a waste." Or, you may give up certain pleasures and activities because you don’t want to dull your spiritual life, and some will say, "What a waste. You missed out." Or, you recognize that the work of God’s kingdom is worth investing in financially, and you give faithfully and regularly to that work. Some may say, "What a waste. You should have kept it for yourself."

Or, you may decide to simply live for yourself and do whatever you want to do with your own life, and God will say, "What a waste."

We need to do what we can while we can, because I believe in that final day, we will wish we would have done more.