Good morning. You would have to be a fan of the old black and white films of the 30s and 40s to know the name of actor Pat O’Brien. He was a well-known character actor at that time, having performed in over 100 films. As his name would suggest, Pat O’Brien was Irish and was frequently called upon to play roles that asked for an Irishman, whether it be a priest, police officer, soldier, etc. While being a movie actor was his life’s dream, he very nearly joined the long rank of failures with such aspirations.
In 1930 Pat O’Brien was a struggling actor in New York, trying out for every part he heard about. He landed a small role in the play The Up and Up, which failed after a short run. His main part in the play was to be a business man seated at a desk trying to deal with two difficult customers at the same time, one on the phone and one in person. It was a tricky part, and after a few showings O’Brien figured the play wasn’t very good and neither was he. He was about ready to give up. It was then that he remembered a scripture passage that he had learned years before in Sunday School. The passage was Colossians 3:23-24 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Remembering that passage gave him a new idea. He decided to give his few minutes on stage his very best effort as though the Lord Himself was in the audience. He later said that he belted out his lines with all the energy he could find, often bathed in sweat after the five minutes he had on stage. The play failed, but Pat O’Brien knew he had given it his best effort.
The play didn’t last long, but for one of the shows a well-known director named Lewis Milestone was in the audience. It was a strange set of circumstances that had this respected director attending, and while he recognized the play as being awful, he remembered the part played by Pat O’Brien. When he was asked to direct the movie The Front Page, he did some digging and discovered that it was O’Brien who had impressed him in his small part in a bad play. Naturally, when they asked O’Brien if he was interested in the role offered for the movie, he was overjoyed.
As I mentioned, Patrick O’Brien went on to be recognized as a fine character actor, one who would “put his all” into every role he played. O’Brien was quick to tell anyone who would listen about the secret to his success: “No matter the role, or anything else in life I figure to be important, I give it my very best, visualizing Jesus Christ Himself sitting front and center.”
When remembering this story there are a couple things that come to mind that I feel may be worth considering in our “thought for the day.” First of all, it is easy to become discouraged when things don’t seem to be working out the way we had expected. I wonder how many times we may have given up on something just before the blessing we have prayed for becomes known. When we are determined to give our best “as to the Lord” there is no doubt that our mindset is changed.
Second, it is important to remember that we never know who is watching. It seems that Patrick O’Brien was ready to give it all up, not knowing that the one who could give him his big break was seated in the audience. When O’Brien decided to give it his best as though Jesus was “front and center” it made all the difference. How can we know who will be affected by our best effort, and who might be discouraged when we give less than our best?
Live your day “as to the Lord,” and be confident that your best effort is blessed.
Vern