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“. . . a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”  – Luke 12:15 

All of us I suppose dream of one day attaining financial security, a time when not only are we worry-free about the necessities of life, but able to accumulate a few luxuries we’ve always longed for.  And our consumer-crazed society reinforces such thinking, convincing us that if we buy more, we will be happier, more fulfilled, and more comfortable.  Great, as long as it inspires us toward excellence in our chosen endeavors.  But we must beware of the hazards that can occur in becoming too cozy with success.

Jesus addressed this matter in his parable about a rich man who after producing a good crop decided to tear down his barns and build bigger ones to store his grain and goods, after which he could take life easy – eat, drink and be merry.  But Jesus warned the rich man, “You fool!  This very night your life will be demanded from you.”  (Luke 12:20)

As a young man the great American playwright Tennessee Williams struggled to make ends meet – as many of us have – taking on such menial jobs as a laborer in a shoe factory, and caretaker of a chicken ranch.  But being a man of great talent and ambition, he dreamed that his literary endeavors would one day bring about success.

So it was that in the winter of 1943-44 Tennessee Williams’ luck changed upon receiving rave reviews for his play “The Glass Menagerie” which premiered in Chicago and soon made its way to Broadway.  That’s when, in his words, “I was snatched out of virtual oblivion and thrust into sudden prominence, and from the precarious tenancy of furnished rooms about the country I was removed to a suite in a first-class Manhattan hotel,” as quoted from an essay written by Williams three years later and published in the New York Times.  The title of the essay?  “The Catastrophe of Success”, a tragic commentary about the potential hazards of fame and fortune, which he himself had encountered.  “Security is a kind of death . . .” Williams had come to realize.

Tennessee Williams’ essay and Jesus’ parable are not inconsistent in their message it seems, that is that the hazard of becoming too cozy with security is a kind of death.  The solution, though, according to Williams is that “purity of heart is the one success worth having.”  Otherwise, “. . . a man’s life does not consist in his abundance.”

“In humility consider others better than yourselves . . . look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”  – Philippians 2:3-4 

To overuse a much overused phrase (and forgive me for overusing it again), there seem to be two kinds of people in the world, those who are arrogant, and those who are humble.  Except, in this case please allow me to impose a level of complexity in that overused and over-simplified statement, something I have observed over my long lifetime, and that is that many who may appear through their blusterous personalities to be arrogant are sometimes actually deep down quite humble, while others put up a façade of humility to mask that which is really arrogance.  In other words, we can be easily fooled.

The late renowned theologian Frederick Buechner explained it like this.  “Humility is often confused with gentlemanly self-deprecation of saying you’re not much of a bridge player when you know perfectly well you are.  Conscious or otherwise, this kind of humility is a form of gamesmanship.  If you really aren’t much of a bridge player, you’re apt to be rather proud of yourself for admitting it so humbly.  This kind of humility is a form of low comedy.  True humility doesn’t consist of thinking ill of yourself but of not thinking of yourself much differently from the way you’d be apt to think of anybody else.  It is the capacity for being no more and no less pleased when you play your own hand well than when your opponents do.”

I know of no better example of that type of “true humility” than a good friend of ours, an entrepreneur and the founder and leader of a highly successful enterprise, who, when she speaks to groups, talks incessantly about herself.  Except, no one seems to notice, for neither is she boastful, nor is she self-deprecating, only that it is impossible for her to share the mission of the enterprise she founded and the lives it has impacted without sharing about herself.  As Buechner expressed it, “not thinking of your self much differently from the way you’d be apt to think of anybody else.”

In much the same way the Apostle Paul encouraged the Philippians to practice that type of true humility, the same humility of Christ himself.  “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

“For what I want to do I do not do . . . [and] . . . what I do is not the good I want to do.”

• Romans 7:15,19 

You go visit your physician for a checkup during which the doctor begins to strongly suggest your need for some lifestyle changes, beginning with exercise.  “You need to quit spending so much time at the gym,” he chides.  “You’re going to kill yourself with all that exercise.  You’d be better off lounging around on the couch snacking and watching TV.”  Then he launches into a lecture about your diet.  “You need more calories,” he says, “higher fat, more sugar and carbs.  Try eating burgers and fries for lunch instead of salad, maybe add a chocolate chip cookie or two, and in the evening a big platter of fried food, with perhaps a wedge of pie a la mode (at least two dips).  Oh, and it wouldn’t hurt to imbibe three or four good stiff drinks before dinner either.”

Have you ever had a doctor say anything like that to you?  Ha, ha, me either!  But if you are like me I bet you have dreamed about how nice it would be to indulge yourself endlessly like that, and still keep your body in good shape without the necessity of those torturous workouts at the gym.  It is sort of like dreaming about winning the lottery, that if we had all the money we ever needed and the ability to buy anything we ever wanted, life would then be just about perfect.  Or would it?

Here is another question: when have you felt best about yourself, the most fulfilled?  Has it been when good fortune has fallen into your lap through no effort of your own?  Or has it been when you have worked hard for some sort of good and you got to experience the results?  The answer, if we are honest with ourselves, is the latter of course.  Yet, there seems to be that constant tension we all struggle with between extreme self-indulgence and a deep desire for our lives to be used for some greater good.

“For what I want to do I do not do [and] what I do is not the good I want to do,” the Apostle Paul confessed.  (Nice to be in good company with someone who has struggled with the same tension.)  Over the years, though, I have learned to appreciate the tension, for I find that it is the ambition to do good that helps me resist being overly self-indulgent, yet it is yielding to the temptation of self-indulgence that helps loosen the grip of pride that can easily accompany good works.  Maybe that’s what God intended.

“For none of us lives to himself alone.”  – Romans 14:7 

After all these many years I still think often about Rookh Richards, a lady who lived around the block from us in my small hometown when I was growing up, and how in her quiet little way she influenced my life.  We had this interesting bond, Rookh and I, even though she was a generation older than my parents, and I was just a young kid of about ten or eleven.  Every afternoon for exercise Rookh would take a brisk walk around our neighborhood, so if I happened to be playing in the yard and saw her coming my way I would stand and wait for her to come by where we would engage in this brief little banter, some sort of teasing, about what I don’t remember.  Whatever it was we would both laugh as she scooted off to finish her walk.

While Rookh was certainly a beloved neighbor and well-known by our family, yet she was not part of what I would consider our family’s inner circle.  A great lady though she was for sure – warm, kind, and generous, a fine citizen, married to a prominent rancher, and always a quiet supporter in church and civic affairs, one of the “grand ladies” in our community back in her day.  But what I remember most was her sense of humor, and how our relationship was formed by teasing each other – about who knows what!

“No man is an island,” the poet John Donne famously wrote.  What the poet was expressing I think is that no matter who we are, where we live, what we do, whether rich or poor, young or old, male or female, outgoing or shy, educated or not, we all touch the lives of others we encounter one way or another.  Realizing that, we each have an opportunity, even in the briefest and most casual circumstances, to influence and leave a lasting impression, either for good or not so good.  My relationship with Rookh was certainly brief and casual, probably no more than twenty or thirty seconds each time she passed by our house.  Yet, for me she left a lasting impression in how one’s warmth, friendliness, and sense of humor can be used in a positive way.

Rookh passed away when I was in high school, and I still remember sitting in her funeral service teary-eyed, mourning the loss of my friend and those brief, casual encounters that will never be forgotten.  As the Apostle Paul says, “For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone.” Rookh certainly didn’t.  And neither do we.

“I will pour out my Spirit on all people.  Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.”  – Joel 2:28 

Among the volumes of influential writings and scores of eloquent speeches and sermons by the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., none perhaps is more memorable nor more often quoted than his famous “I Have a Dream” speech given on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in August of 1963.  Some scholars argue it may have been the greatest speech of the twentieth century; for it was in that passionate address that Dr. King beautifully summarized his own life’s mission and purpose, and the meaning behind his many courageous acts, brilliant writings and inspiring speeches – his dream.

Like Moses, though, who never made it to the promised land, Dr. King’s own life was tragically cut short before he could experience the fulfillment of his dream.  But even if he were still alive today would he have seen his mission completed?  The answer, of course, is no.  While much progress has been made – and hopefully Dr. King would be pleased about that – we are still far from the peaceful, civil, racially unbiased society of his dream.  His was a big dream, though, a massive one, and big dreams take years, indeed generations to fulfill.

Dr. King dreamed of a society where people are judged “not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character”, and Moses dreamed of leading his people into the long-awaited promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey.  But don’t we dream the same dreams they did, though perhaps in a lesser context, dreams of a future for our children whereby they have an opportunity to live safe, healthy and prosperous lives?

I have often felt bad for Moses and Dr. King, who dedicated their lives in pursuit of their dreams, faithful to the missions for which they had been called by God.  It seemed unfair they did not live to see them into fruition.  But maybe they knew that, that their dreams were too massive, and life inherently too short to see them through to the end.  Perhaps it was not their jobs to see them through, but to inspire the future generations.  Maybe that’s what we’re all called to do in our own time.  It is why we honor Dr. King on this day; for as the prophet Joel proclaimed centuries ago, “Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.”