Sergeant York Moments

[This article contains plot spoilers for the movie Sergeant York]

In the 1941 movie Sergeant York (starring Gary Cooper and based on the true story of the World War I hero), Alvin York, the oldest child in his family (in real life he was the third of many siblings), was saddled with the enormous burden of taking care of his widowed mother and younger siblings by trying to grow crops from the rocky, difficult northern Tennessee "top land" that they owned. The only release that Alvin had from this backbreaking work was to go off across the border with his buddies into Kentucky, where they would spend the night getting drunk and fighting. And sometimes he would return home in an intoxicated state riding his horse, yelling and shooting in the air (and at trees). So he got a bad reputation as a troublemaker, and the folks around him who cared for him tried to get him to change his ways. Alvin wanted to buy some fertile "bottom land" and, as the result of winning money from a turkey shoot, was about to buy a plot. But the chief rival for his girl's affection, knowing about Alvin's plan, bought up the land first. And Alvin was hot with a murderous vengeance. He went out on his horse that stormy night with the full intention of shooting his rival. But suddenly a bolt of lightning struck the tree nearest him, and it knocked him clear off his horse. When Alvin recovered, he took it as a sign from God and did a complete about-face, instantly renouncing both alcohol and his anger. This was what I came to call a "Sergeant York moment", when a drastic transformation takes places in a person's outlook and habits in what seems to be the wink of an eye (or a lightning strike).

In the real world, Sergeant York moments are more for the observer of someone's changed life than is the case for the person himself. The really drastically sudden thing is when someone resolves to change the direction of their life, no matter what the obstacles or potential setbacks are ahead of them. But ingrained detrimental habits, both in terms of outward behavior and inward attitudes, must be changed over time. So from the point of view of the one changing, not much may seem to be happening. But from the vantage point of others, the changes may seem quite sudden. In religious circles, this change of a life's direction is often called "repentance". When old habits threaten to undermine positive change, they not only need to end, but also need something positive to replace them. And a supporting social environment of people responding positively to the individual's changing life is also very helpful, not only providing affirmation but also give a sense of accountability to others. But the desire to change must come first from the changer, not others.