All My Sons

On Saturday night, my wife and I went to a play written by Arthur Miller, called, "All My Sons," at the Weathervane Theater outside of Akron. It was the story of a father caught between wanting to provide for his family on one hand and doing something completely immoral on the other. The setting was during World War II. He was the owner of a factory that supplied parts to airplanes. On one fateful day, the factory was producing a faulty part that had a crack in it. He had to decide whether to shut the factory down and fix the part and risk losing his business or ship the part, knowing that something tragic could occur. Unfortunately, he chose the latter and 20 men were killed in the airplanes with his faulty part. And to make matters worse, he tried to cover up the crack by blaming his head manager who was also his neighbor and good friend. That man ends up taking the fall and going to prison. As the play continued, his deception is found out and he ends up shooting himself.

I did feel that the play was well acted, but I like stories with happy endings- call me what you will. I hear enough tragic stories on the news every day. When I see a movie or watch a play, I want something that is uplifting. This play was far from that. But, I must say, it was accurate. Try as they might, people try to justify their actions with all sorts of good intentions. But, without God, outside of faith in Christ, life is hopeless and delusional. I really don't know how anyone can survive with some hope in their life. The bottom line is simply: don't try to live your life by yourself. If you have to do something immoral to make yourself or your family successful, it is definitely not the right thing to do. God provides for you. You need not take matters into your own hands. You can live your life by yourself for awhile, but ultimately, it will lead to destruction. Trust in Jesus Christ! He is the way, the truth and the life!