Jacob Marley’s Gift of Power

They died in selfishness, refusing to help those about them. Now they were doomed to wander to and fro witnessing the pain and sadness in the world that they could have alleviated when they were mortal. But now, as ghosts without physical strength, they were powerless – paralyzed – and unable to do anything about the suffering they saw. Or so they thought.

But were they really paralyzed and powerless? Through his skillfully crafted story, Dickens suggests a deeper message. The spirits only believed they were powerless. The ghost, Jacob Marley proved them wrong. Jacob was so focused on helping his self-centered and deeply sad partner, that he broke through his own limiting belief in his powerlessness and released Scrooge from his prison of selfishness. Without fully realizing what he had done, Jacob Marley released himself from his own self-imposed paralysis and blessed both their lives – and the lives of all whom Scrooge helped from that day forth.

So what kept the other spirits from doing good? What held them powerless and paralyzed? Ghostly chains – that is all. Their chains were, in fact – nothing. They were ghostly chains, weightless and without substance. It was only their belief that they could do nothing that held them back. Weren’t the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future also spirits? And didn’t they – like Marley – “interfere for good” in the life of Ebenezer Scrooge? As it is with them, so it is with us. Our beliefs control our behavior. Whether spirit or mortal, we are as powerful as we believe we are and only as paralyzed as we let ourselves be.

“God bless us every one” with a realization of our power to serve and let us use what strength we have to bless everyone, as did the repentant Scrooge.