“A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”

–          Proverbs 11:25 

The alternate route proved to be a narrow one lane dirt road along a rugged hillside on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa, Honduras.  The quick decision to detour resulted from the tragic accident up ahead that shut down the main highway.  As other drivers from both directions diverted to this tiny path, it too became gridlocked.

Time was scarce.  It was the last day of our mission trip, and even under the best of circumstances we had precious few hours to complete the projects we had begun a week earlier.  Yet, here we were in the middle of a primitive hillside barrio jammed with busses and trucks unable to pass by one another.  Imagine an LBJ Freeway traffic jam, or a Times Square gridlock with horns blaring and tempers flaring!

Suddenly the driver of the oncoming truck stepped out of his cab and meticulously guided our yellow school bus between the deep bar ditch on the right and his own vehicle.  Once passed, our own driver stepped out and did the same for the next oncoming vehicle.  Driver after driver calmly and patiently stopped to help one another in what had appeared to be a hopeless situation, until we miraculously reached the open road leading to our destination.  Although we arrived at our rural worksite an hour and a half late, our projects were completed with time to spare.

There was a sense of calm in observing our Honduran friends working together.  It was a great lesson for our small group of fourteen results-driven, type-A North Americans.  We saw a narrow road with room too scarce for two vehicles to pass.  Our Honduran friends, on the other hand, saw a road with abundant space when shared generously.

“A generous man will prosper;” the wise proverb reminds us, for when there is a spirit of generosity, there is always abundance.

“Do not say, ‘Why were the old days better than these?’”  – Ecclesiastes 7:10 

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”  Almost everyone is familiar with that famous quote from Neil Armstrong as he stepped onto the surface of the moon back on July 20, 1969, the first human being ever to do so.  Even those who were not around then have heard it a thousand times, and rightly so as it was one of America’s finest moments, indeed one of history’s greatest events.  Even more remarkable was that only a few short years before, May 25, 1961 to be exact, President Kennedy had issued what seemed to be at the time an impossible challenge to Congress – and the nation – in another often-repeated quote.  “I believe,” he said, “that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.”  So, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on the moon, we all felt that the impossible had been achieved.

Ah, those were the good-old-days, weren’t they?  Or were they?  For those of us who lived through the 1960’s, while the space program may have been a great triumph, it was a tumultuous decade plagued with war, violence, civil-unrest, and tragedy.  It was during that same decade our country suffered the assassinations of three powerful leaders, including President Kennedy himself.  Were those days really better than today?

I admit to being a real sucker for browsing around antique stores.  Because much of our home is furnished with family heirlooms already, we seldom buy much.  But I love looking at old things, even how they smell, which floods my mind with fond memories of times gone by.  But when I think hard enough reality usually sets in to remind me of those not-so-good times that also occurred – like with the 1960’s.

“Do not say, ‘Why were the old days better than these?’”  In his book Living Life Backwards author David Gibson offers this answer.  “When you start asking, ‘Why was it better?’ what you are doing is denying the reality of God’s presence in the present. . . Often when we ask this, it’s because we are blind to the good things of the present and ignorant of the evil of the past.”  Does that make it unhealthy to retain fond memories from days gone by?  Not as long as we remember that today is a chance to create new fond memories; for God is every bit as present today and he was back then.

“Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good.”  – 3 John 1:11 

If we want to witness goodness we needn’t look far.  It often occurs right under our noses.  This thought occurred to me this past week when I stopped by our neighborhood Kroger store to pick up a few things.  While looking around for a small shopping cart I was approached by a young employee who had been retrieving baskets from the parking lot and seemed to recognize my need.  Sir, he asked, are you looking for one of the smaller baskets?  Yes, I am, I replied.  Just a moment, he said, as he went out of his way to fetch one for me.  What an act of kindness, I thought, and so unexpected – above and beyond the call of duty!

Once inside the store I spotted Ronaldo, the produce manager, meticulously fussing over the fruits and vegetables, as he always does, to ensure only the freshest products are in the bins.  I got to know Ronaldo because he and my wife have become big buddies.  Every time she sees him she goes over and gives him a big hug and sometimes a kiss on the cheek, which makes him beam with delight.  In return Ronaldo makes sure Tee gets only the best from the produce section.  But that’s not the reason for her affection, she simply likes him because of the kind, warm-hearted, hard-working gentleman he is.

Then came an announcement over the store’s intercom encouraging shoppers to donate a dollar or two toward school supplies for needy children.  Standing in line at the checkout a few minutes later I was amazed by the many generous responses toward that most worthy cause.

It just goes to show that if we want to witness goodness we needn’t look far.  It often occurs right under our noses, even during a brief, mundane shopping excursion to the neighborhood supermarket.  Ninety-nine percent of life, I’ve come to believe – both good and bad – happens under the radar, in our homes, workplaces and schools, neighborhoods and communities.  The headline news that so often occupies our attention, though not insignificant or unimportant, is but a small portion of what really matters.  What does matter is what we do and what we are able to influence others to do, like those fellow shoppers in Kroger who through their generosity influenced me to give a few extra bucks for the cause as well.  So, “Dear friends, do not imitate what is evil but what is good.”

“The wind blows wherever it pleases.  You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.”  – John 3:8 

Many circumstances are simply beyond our control.  They are like the wind in West Texas where I grew up.  Out there it blows almost all the time, and you can complain all you want but there’s not a darn thing you can do about it.  Wind is perhaps the most elusive and least controllable of all nature’s elements.  Rain, for example, cannot be controlled in its occurrence, but at least the water it produces can be captured and contained in reservoirs, and flooding can be averted much of the time by the creation of watersheds, dams, and levies.  But wind can neither be captured nor its effects averted.  It simply comes and goes as it will.

Such are those annoying, uncontrollable, and sometimes destructive circumstances we face – the economy, war, disease, pollution, crime or natural disasters.  We can complain all we want but there’s not a darn thing we can do about it.  Or is there?  Although no one can control the West Texas wind, there are creative ways it can be used for good.  Decades ago, for example, someone discovered that water can be pumped out of underground aquifers using windmills, providing much needed water to thirsty livestock.  More recently that concept has advanced much further as hundreds of giant towers have been erected with huge propellers that turn gracefully in the wind generating pollution-free electricity.  Billions of dollars are being invested in this new technology of using otherwise annoying uncontrollable wind for the good of mankind.

All of us can find ways to be windmills in the uncontrollable circumstances we face.  While we cannot control the economy, we can tend to our own finances prudently.  We can’t stop wars, but we can try to live peacefully with our neighbors.  We can’t stop others from polluting, but we can be good stewards of the environment.  We can’t cure diseases, but we can comfort those who suffer.  We can’t stop crime, but we can contribute to making our neighborhoods safer by providing better education and teaching higher values to children so that fewer will grow up to be criminals.  We can’t prevent natural disasters, but we can pitch in to help the victims.  For, just like in West Texas, “The wind blows wherever it pleases.  You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.”  But as a windmill does, it can be turned into good.

“Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought . . .”  – Romans 12:3 

For several years we owned and operated a small cattle ranch in West Texas; tiny, in fact, in comparison to other ranches in the area.  Nevertheless, it was a successful little venture, producing a profit almost every year – none of which, however, was much to our credit; for what we knew about the cattle business was just about enough to be dangerous.  But we had the exceptional good fortune to have as partners the owners of the adjacent property, the Holland family, who had been engaged in farming and ranching for decades.  They had more knowledge about the cattle business in a little finger than we could have gained in a lifetime – what to buy, when to buy, when to sell and where to sell, not to mention how to properly manage and nurture the livestock in the meantime.  All we provided was the land and half the working capital.  Yet, even though they did most of the hard work, they never once treated us as if we contributed anything less.

Besides their labor and knowledge, the Hollands were also people of impeccable integrity, most evident in our dealings with them on financial matters.  When it came time to sell our cows, for example, without fail we would receive our share of the proceeds within a couple of days accompanied by a detailed settlement statement.  On the other hand, when we owed them money for the purchase of a new herd, it was often times weeks before we would receive a bill, and that after multiple inquiries.  Don’t worry, they’d always say, we just haven’t gotten around to sending you an invoice.

Ours was a relationship embedded in a deep level of trust; for “when you trust people,” according to Stephen M.R. Covey in his book The Speed of Trust, “you have confidence in them – in their integrity and in their abilities.  When you distrust people, you are suspicious of them – of their integrity, their agenda, their capabilities, or their track record.  It’s that simple.”  The Hollands proved to have both integrity and ability. 

“Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought.”  One thing I observed in dealing with the Hollands is that they never shied from accepting more than their share of the blame, nor did they claim more than their share of the credit.  That is not only how great business people behave but is also the mark of great leadership.  Amazingly, those who follow these same principles tend to be the ones who succeed year after year.