Mike Dryden
November 18, 2008
Theology III
Andy, Opie, and a Lesson in Faith

In an episode from “The Andy Griffith Show”, Andy and Barney become concerned with Andy’s son Opie. He had been playing make-believe with an imaginary horse (which Andy and Barney encouraged), but now Opie seemed to be making up a person as well; Mr. McBeevee. Andy didn’t have any problems with this, until Opie started returning home after being out with things Mr. McBeevee had given him, such as a hatchet and a quarter. Andy, believing at first that Opie stole the items, consistently pressures Opie to tell him the “truth”, which to Andy means saying that Mr. McBeevee does not exist. When in reality, Mr. McBeevee is a real person. Finally, Andy, against all common sense and all the ideas he has been presented with (Opie described Mr. McBeevee as having twelve extra hands, jingling as he walks, and that he walks among the treetops), Andy trusts and believes in Opie that Mr. McBeevee is a real person. The episode ends with Andy meeting the real Mr. McBeevee by serendipity.

This episode of “The Andy Griffith Show” breaks faith down to its most basic level, and divides it among the characters, which is why watching this episode is how I learned the most about faith and all the different aspects of faith. Looking at Opie, he is a great model of faith; he chooses to believe in what he knows is right even under pressure (and the threat of a whipping!) from his father not to do so. He sticks to his guns throughout the episode. That’s one lesson I learned. Another lesson I learned was from Andy, and this was the most important lesson I took from the show; that faith is risky and uncertain. You sometimes need to go out on a limb, outside your comfort zone and your own common sense and reasoning, to express faith in a person or an idea. In this instance, Andy showed his faith in Opie as a person; not so much the character of Mr. McBeevee, but Andy showed that he trusts his son to tell him the truth; he has faith in him. He also is pressured by another character to go against his faith. He is pressured by Barney, who lost his faith after Andy and Opie tricked him into thinking they had a real horse when it was really Opie’s imaginary horse. All of these lessons that I learned can also apply to my religious life and my belief in God; sometimes I might need to go out on a limb, and many times I will be pressured by other people to believe/think otherwise. But in the end I need to place my faith in who I really trust.