“But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”  – Mark 10:31 

“The last in line doesn’t ever make the team / Doesn’t get a second chance / Doesn’t find a field of dreams / The last in line doesn’t get a special prize / Doesn’t ever hear his name / You don’t look him in the eyes / Nobody wants to be the last in line.”  (Song lyrics by songwriter and singer Billy Crockett, “The Last in Line”) 

No one likes to be last in line, or last at anything for that matter.  We learn that at a young age, in simple games, on the playground, in the classroom, from a game of Old Maid or checkers.  We want to win the game, be the fastest in the race, the top student in the class.  It’s a great thing the competitive spirit, the desire to achieve, to be the best, to come in first, to win the prize.  Such desires inspire us to perform at our best and to work at becoming even better.  It is this spirit that drives achievement, success, innovative ideas, inventions, better and more efficient ways of doing things, all of which can make the world a better place.  So, being first in line is something we should all aim for, as long as we don’t forget those who are last in line.

My good friend Tommy was that kind of person, a high achiever, brilliant businessman and corporate leader, a fierce competitor whose wealth grew, as you can imagine, to be fairly substantial.   Tommy and I became friends serving on a mission team for several years making annual excursions to Honduras where we worked among the poorest of the poor.  Tommy was the kind of guy who would always volunteer for the most backbreaking jobs like laying bricks or pouring concrete from a heavy wheelbarrow.  But the thing I remember most about Tommy was how at the end of the day before we left the worksite, he would take off his shoes, clean them up, then give them away to someone who needed them more than he did, after which he would quietly walk away – barefoot.  Tommy was a winner, but he never forgot those who were last in line.

When Tommy passed away a few years ago, I had this image of him stepping into God’s Kingdom exactly the way he left Honduras – barefoot.  But instead of being first in line he stepped back a few spaces to help someone else get ahead, someone who just happened to be wearing the shoes he had given away. “But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”  And that’s just as it should be.

“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded . . .” – Luke 12:48 

As a high school graduation gift back in 1992, our older son received a copy of the Dr. Seuss book Oh, the Places You’ll Go.  At that time the book had only been in publication maybe a couple of years, probably one of the final works of Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) who died in 1991.  I had never read it until our son received it as a gift, and so intrigued was I by its message that our younger son presented me with my own copy a few weeks later as a Father’s Day gift.

“For out-starting upstarts of all ages, here is a wonderfully wise and blessedly brief graduation speech from the one and only Dr. Seuss,” the book cover describes this masterfully illustrated little poem about life.  “In his inimitable, humorous verse and pictures he addresses the Great Balancing Act (life itself, and the ups and downs it presents) while encouraging us to find the success that lies within us.”  What a great message for those transitioning into new careers, higher levels of education, or a new season of life.  No wonder that each year around this time, graduation season, Oh, the Places You’ll Go still rises back into the ranks of bestsellers.  I know I still cherish my copy and read and refer to it frequently.

What parent, grandparent, teacher, or coach does not dream for the child they helped raise, teach, coach, influence or encourage to become successful, however defined?  Of course we do.  But we do not wish for them success simply for the sake of success.  Say, for example, a child has potential to become a great violinist.  Who among us would wish for that child to become a great musician only to perform in a vacuum, rather than for others to enjoy and be inspired by?

Jesus says that “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded.”  Such is the point He was making in the parable of the talents where one servant was entrusted with five talents, another servant with two, and another with one.  The servants given the five talents and the two invested wisely and doubled what they had, thus were entrusted with more to manage.  But the servant with one kept his in a vacuum, so to speak, and so he lost what little he had.  Success for the sake of success sits in a vacuum, until it is shared for the benefit of others.  And when it is, “oh, the places you will go!”

“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” – Romans 12:15 

We have these great neighbors who live next door, Matt and Alicia.  Mostly we meet up when we are working in the yard.  One day recently we returned home from running errands to find Matt in our front yard with a pruning saw cleaning out a yaupon tree that had been damaged by a springtime storm.  He didn’t need to do that, of course, except being a much younger man I suppose he thought I could use a strong helping hand.  But that’s just the kind of guy Matt is, like the way he takes care of an elderly lady’s yard across the street, mowing, raking leaves, and trimming her shrubs.  Maybe she pays him something, although I doubt it.  Either way, he certainly doesn’t do it for the money.  I try to reciprocate as much as I can by lending him tools or looking after their house when they go out of town.  But what impresses me most about Matt is how he ends every conversation we have.  “If you ever need help with anything – I mean anything!” he will always say, “please let me know.”

Having Matt as a neighbor has taught me two things.  One, we need more Matts in the world, people who help others for no other reason except out of pure goodness.  And two, I need to work on becoming more like Matt.  The fact is, I really did need help pruning those broken limbs out of that yaupon tree.  You see, I had wounded my shoulder recently – nothing serious, but enough to put me temporarily out of commission from using a saw.  Matt didn’t know that, though, not until I thanked him for what he had done.

How can any of us get through life if we are not helping one another along the way?  Or, as songwriter Richard Gillard expresses so well in The Servant Song: “We are pilgrims on a journey / Fellow travelers on the road / We are here to help each other / Walk the mile and bear the load. . . I will weep when you are weeping / When you laugh, I’ll laugh with you / I will share your joy and sorrow / Till we’ve seen this journey through.” 

In other words, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.  Live in harmony with one another.”  It is a sure formula for an abundant life.

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”  – Romans 12:21 

Sadly and tragically, mass shootings in our country these days seem almost as commonplace as automobile accidents.  That’s an exaggeration, of course, but they certainly have become epidemic, have they not?  For me, though, this most recent shooting was different – much different!  It occurred in my own backyard, less than ten minutes from our home.  That outlet mall is a place we frequently shop, as do our children and grandchildren, friends and neighbors.  For us, this shooting was not just another tragic news story, it took place in my own community, among my fellow citizens.  It was personal!  And that in and of itself places part of the blame on me.

How so, you may wonder?  There is a legendary story about Fiorello La Guardia who was mayor of New York City during the Great Depression.  One night the mayor showed up at a night court in one of the poorest wards in the city, dismissed the judge, and took over the bench.  A tattered old woman was brought before him, charged with steeling a loaf of bread.  She told the mayor that her daughter’s husband had left, her daughter was ill, and her two grandchildren were starving.  The shopkeeper, however, refused to drop the charges, insisting she should be punished.  Sighing, La Guardia turned to the woman and said, “According to the law I’ve got to punish you.  Ten dollars or ten days in jail.”  But as he was pronouncing the sentence, the mayor dug into his own pocket for ten dollars to pay the woman’s fine, then commenced to fine every person in that courtroom for “living in a town where a person has to steal bread to feed her grandchildren.”

Like you, the news of this mass shooting filled me immediately with rage that someone, anyone, would senselessly murder innocent people.  I grieve for the victims – and beyond the fatalities, the wounded, and their families, everyone at that mall was a victim in some way.  This tragic event makes me fear for my family’s safety, and my own.  Mostly, I am sad that we live in a culture where loneliness, abuse, addiction, and lack of love exists, like the poor woman who lived in a city where she had to steal bread to feed her grandchildren.  I wonder, could I have unknowingly crossed paths with that shooter once upon a time and failed to show kindness?  Could it have made a difference if I had?  Could it have saved lives?  The Apostle Paul’s words could not be more relevant for these times we live in: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” 

“Let us not give up meeting together . . . but let us encourage one another.”

• Hebrews 10:25 

My dentist’s office called the other day reminding me of my upcoming six-month cleaning and checkup appointment next week.  Shortly after a warning light came on in my car indicating it is time for an oil-change and routine maintenance.  Then I noticed on my calendar that I am due to visit the dermatologist soon for a routine checkup on my bald head.  Similarly, the heating and air company we use recently left two messages that it is time for spring maintenance on our AC units before the hot summer months arrive.

There once was a time when people only went to the dentist when they had a toothache, or to the doctor when they were sick or hurt.  Cars went to the shop when they broke down, and the repairman was called when the AC unit quit working.  Routine maintenance – or wellness checkups, the term the medical profession prefers to use – is relatively new, so it seems, over the past fifty years or so.

No doubt the promotions among various professions and product vendors for regular checkups and routine maintenance have added substantial revenue streams to their bottom lines, but not without, in all honesty, tremendous benefit to the consuming public.  Consider, for instance, how life expectancy has increased, and not simply living longer but healthier as well.  Seventy is now the new fifty as they say.  And cars?  There was a time when after three to five years of normal driving a car began to wear out.  Now it is not unusual for an automobile, properly maintained, to remain reliable for years.

If regular routine checkups are healthy for automobiles and AC units, as well as dental and general health, how might the same principle apply to our spiritual and emotional wellbeing?  Here is my experience.  Over the past twenty-five years I have been meeting every Tuesday morning with a small group of men for a spiritual wellness checkup during which there are three simple questions for which we hold each other accountable: (1) How is your relationship with God?  (2) What are you reading or studying to support that?  (3) How are you reaching out to others in a Godly way?  The result has been, for each of us, that our spiritual and emotional health has done nothing but increase.  “Let us [then] not give up meeting together . . . but let us [continue to] encourage one another.”