“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.

“. . . you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”  – Numbers 20:12 

“I have a dream . . .”   For the majority of us those are the words most often associated with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  We remember them not only because of Dr. King’s often quoted famous speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in August of 1963, but it was in the context of that passionate address that he defined his life’s mission and purpose, summarizing all his courageous acts, brilliant writings, and inspiring speeches.  Arguably, and as some scholars have claimed, it may have been the greatest speech of the twentieth century.  But one thing is for sure, by the time he stepped down from the podium that day not only did the world understand Dr. King’s dream, more importantly he inspired others to share in it, and continues to do so today.

Like Moses, though, who never made it to the Promise Land Dr. King’s own life was tragically cut short by an assassin’s bullet before he could experience the fulfillment of his dream.  But even if he were still living today would it be so?  The honest answer must be that we are still far from the peaceful, civil, racially equal society of his dream.  Progress has been made for sure, but his dream was so big and audacious it will likely still be a work in progress generations from now.

Moses’ led the historic Exodus with a dream of the Promise Land, and Dr. King led the Civil Rights Movement with a dream of racial equality.  Both dreams are examples of what Jim Collins, in his best-selling books Good to Great and Built to Last, referred to as BHAGs, an acronym for “Big Hairy Audacious Goal.”  “A BHAG,” according to Collins, “is a huge and daunting goal – like a mountain to climb.  It is clear, compelling, and people ‘get it’ right away.  A BHAG serves as a unifying focal point of effort, galvanizing people and creating team spirit as people strive toward a finish line.”  Moses and Dr. King both certainly accomplished that, didn’t they?

Moses’ BHAG has outlived him by thousands of years as the Exodus story continues to inspire generation after generation.  And Dr. King, whose BHAG has thus far outlived him by several decades, continues to inspire our society, and will no doubt continue to do so.  It makes me wonder, then, about our own big dreams.  If they are not expected to extend beyond our own lifetimes, are we dreaming big enough dreams?

“I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for the least of these, you did not do for me.”  – Matthew 25:45 

This past Wednesday, January 6, 2021, was undoubtedly one of the darkest days in the history of the United States of America.  Like most Americans, and the world at large, I stood in front of my TV screen appalled that such an attack on our nation’s capital could be happening before my very eyes, and by an angry mob made up of none other than my own fellow citizens.  Like most Americans I find myself caught up in emotions of anger, fear, and sadness all at the same time.  What has happened in America is heartbreaking.

These Abundant Living articles are not intended to be a forum for commentaries on current events, nor would it be a subject for this issue except I question if I too am part of the problem, if not in some ways as guilty as the mob that stormed the Capital.  Jesus admonished us that, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded.”  And here I have been a person of privilege all my life, born and raised in a loving home with access to a good education, successful careers, a beautiful family, and financial stability.  Yet, how often have I turned away a neighbor in need while feeding my own selfish desires?  How often have I betrayed someone or been unkind?  I ask myself, has my behavior contributed to the hate and anger we witnessed last Wednesday?

“For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me. . . I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”  If I have failed my neighbor and my Lord, what then must I do – starting today – that in some small way will help us heal?  Maybe I need to start with this humble prayer:

“Most merciful God, I confess that I have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what I have done, and by what I have left undone.  I have not loved you with my whole heart; I have not loved my neighbors as myself.  I am truly sorry and I humbly repent.  For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on me and forgive me; that I may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of you Name.  Amen.”  (Book of Common Prayer, revised to first person.)  May God Bless America!

“Wisdom is better than strength.”  – Ecclesiastes 9:16 

As a teenager growing up in a small farming community, my buddies and I would sometimes hire ourselves out during the summer months to local farmers to help them haul their freshly baled hay from the field and stack it in the barn.  What always puzzled me back then was how those farmers who were forty or fifty years our seniors, could labor alongside us all day long, matching us bale for bale, and hardly break a sweat, while we strapping young high school athletes would be exhausted by the end of the day.

It was not until years later after I was well seasoned in my own career that I discovered the answer.  While we were out there flexing our muscles, tossing those seventy-pound bales around with brute strength, those farmers had figured out how to get as much done using sort of a rhythmic finesse I cannot exactly describe, but that required far less effort.  It was a great demonstration of what wisdom is.

Society, as it always has, admires physical strength, just as it does wealth, fame, and power, beauty, athletic ability, artistic talent, intellect, and academic achievements, to name a few.  What is often overlooked, unrecognized by the masses, is wisdom.  Even though it is more effective – like the farmers demonstrated – wisdom is not always heard, and wise people often go unheeded.  Why is that I wonder?

Too often, I think, we use the words knowledge and wisdom interchangeably, and while the two characteristics are not mutually exclusive, neither are they synonymous; for not all highly knowledgeable people are necessarily wise, nor wise people those with the most knowledge.  Knowledge is something we learn by being taught, either by other learned people or our own endeavors to study and learn.  Wisdom, however, is something that must be discovered by experiencing life.

That was the great wisdom demonstrated by the farmers; for I suspect when they had been young men like we were at the time, they too were out there flexing their muscles, tossing haybales around with brute strength.  But after years of experiencing life, they eventually discovered more effective ways of getting the job done with far less effort, realizing that “wisdom is better than strength” – always!

“In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world.”

• John 16:33 

If there is one single thing we probably all agree on in this deeply divided age we live in, it is that the year 2020 has been a year from . . . well, you know where!  That sentiment is no doubt universal, as the COVID pandemic has impacted everyone on the entire planet, no nation or society has escaped.  Except perhaps for World War II, this fatal disease has been like nothing any of us has ever experienced.  Couple that with already existing social, political, and racial unrest during a highly contentious election year, it is almost a perfect storm.  And as much as we long for great leadership to unify us in solving the problems of our day, that remains doubtful regardless of one’s political or philosophical stripes.  No, more than a great leader, what we need is a great savior.

Well, take heart my friends, we have one, a Savior who has power to heal our deadliest and most debilitating diseases, calm the fiercest storms, and bring peace in the bitterest of conflicts.  Centuries before his appearance on earth the Prophet Isaiah foresaw his character.  “He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.  He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.  Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.  The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.  The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.  The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest.  They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”  (Isaiah 11:3-9) 

All this from a tiny baby born in a stable two thousand years ago to humble parents from an obscure village!  He’s just the Savior we need, one who is with us always, even in 2020, a year from . . . well, you know where. “In this world you will have trouble,” Jesus told us.  “But take heart!  I have overcome the world.”  I think I’ll put my trust in Him.  Hope you will too.  Merry Christmas!  Abundant Living will return January 4, 2021.