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

A friend of mine was once asked to serve on a non-profit board during the period of a critical capital project in which his financial and leadership expertise and experience were especially valuable.  My friend agreed, but halfway through the first board meeting the two top leaders of the organization excused themselves and left, assuming they had nothing else to contribute toward the particular topic being discussed that evening.  The following morning my friend paid an unannounced visit to those two executives to gently explain that regardless whether they were contributing to the conversation, excusing themselves from that meeting left a negative impression on the rest of the board, a feeling that the project was not all that important after all.  Ouch, I thought when some months later I heard that story!  How many times have I done the same thing?

“No man is an island,” John Donne famously said centuries ago, and there is nothing like an isolating Texas ice storm to remind me of that great truth; for even though my wife and are blessed with the companionship of each other, such things as games, movies, books, jigsaw puzzles, hot chocolate and popcorn only go so far when housebound.  Sooner or later we need fellow human beings, not just for the functional services they provide, but more importantly for their presence and influence in our lives.

“Strange, isn’t it?” the angel Clarence proclaimed to George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life, “Each man’s life touches so many other lives.  When he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?”  We all need that reminder from time to time that every action we take – or fail to take – good or bad, impacts someone else, as does our presence – or our absence – for “no man is an island.”

My friend did not show up that day to scold those two non-profit leaders for leaving their post, rather he came as their angel to impress upon them that their actions and presence matter.  And I believe I must have eventually become privy to that story for the same reason – some guardian angel thought I needed reminding too.  “For none of us lives to himself alone.”

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

For most of his adult life my dad owned and operated a small town Coca-Cola bottling operation.  This was back in the days when such operations were the primary means by which soft drinks were produced and distributed, and most notably when soft drink beverages were sold in six-ounce returnable bottles made of thick glass (relics that are now collectors’ items) that were filled through an assembly line process that began by feeding the returned empty bottles into a “soaker” machine where they were cleaned and sterilized before being refilled, capped, and repackaged into wooden cases for distribution.  That was the process in a nutshell.

My dad took his business seriously enough and ran a tight ship, except he had a penchant for mischief from time to time.  On one occasion he had come out of his office to check on the production line when he noticed a firecracker in one of the wooden crates.  (It was not uncommon for returned bottles and crates to be stuffed with trash such as used tissues and cigarette butts.)  It so happened that when he spied that firecracker he happened to be standing behind Ida Mae, one of the production line workers – and no stranger to pulling pranks on others, including my dad – so he quickly took advantage of a payback opportunity by lighting the firecracker and tossing toward Ida Mae’s feet.  You can imagine how high she must have jumped when it went off!  But by that time Daddy had slipped back into his office and was sitting at his desk doubled over laughing, while the profanity that spewed from Ida Mae got directed at some poor innocent bystander.

Make no mistake, my dad was the boss and everyone knew and respected that, including me during the several summers I worked at the plant.  But he tried to use his authority appropriately, to direct, and correct when necessary, and on rare occasions to fire when someone stepped too far over the line.  He also used his authority in ways to encourage and promote others, and to genuinely show concern for them.  Mostly my dad’s attitude toward his employees was the same he had toward his family and friends, that we are all human beings going through life together, that we should strive to “live in harmony with one another,” as the Apostle Paul said, “rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn,” and ultimately “do not think of yourself more highly than you ought,” and that sometimes even an appropriately timed friendly prank can promote harmony.

“His brothers were jealous of him . . .”  – Genesis 37:11 

I’m sure you are familiar with the story.  If not from the Bible in the Book of Genesis certainly you’ve seen Andrew Lloyd Webber’s acclaimed musical, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”.  It begins with Jacob, father of twelve sons, who shows favoritism toward Joseph by giving him a special colorful coat.  Because of that the other brothers become jealous, kidnap Joseph and sell him into slavery to the Egyptians.  The rest of the story is about Joseph’s rollercoaster rise to power in Egypt as Pharaoh’s faithful right-hand man.  Eventually he is reunited with his estranged family when they show up in Egypt begging for food in the midst of a great famine in their home country of Canaan.  Joseph not only forgives his brothers for what they had done to him, but because of his powerful leadership position is able to save his family from starvation.

Have you ever found yourself in a favored position only to be scorned by others who are jealous of you?  Promoted over your peers?  Dated the prettiest girl, or the handsome star athlete?  Been victorious in a sporting event or contest?  Won an election?  Attained extraordinary financial success?  Or simply been someone’s favorite for no particular reason?  It happened to me in eighth grade.  We had this math teacher, Mr. Collins, who for some unexplainable reason seemed to favor me over almost all my classmates.  Mr. Collin had a habit of after assigning some classroom work would then leave the room for a period of time. As you can imagine, it didn’t take long until everything turned to chaos, that is until his return when everyone in the class would get punished except – you guessed it – yours truly.  Talk about being a victim of jealousy!!  It was embarrassing.

Others being jealous, unfortunately, is a price we pay for success and good fortune.  What we must guard against, however, is shying away from it for fear of the jealousy that will inevitably occur.  Rather, it should be our duty to use such successes, accomplishments, favored positions, and calls to leadership graciously and responsibly for the betterment of others.  Consider Joseph who set the example, not only rescuing his family from famine and using the opportunity to reconcile with them, but eventually impacting the entirety of the Hebrew people.  Yet in the beginning Joseph had to endure the same response to the favoritism we all experience; for “His brothers were jealous of him.”

“The kingdom of God is near.”  – Mark 1:15 

Have you ever had one of those experiences when it seemed as if time stood still?  I’m not talking about time slowing down like sitting in a traffic jam, rather one of those magical moments when time doesn’t seem to exist.  The first time I was ever aware of such a moment, or at least the one stuck in my memory, was a classmate’s birthday party when I was in seventh grade.  I suppose over the course of my childhood I attended dozens of such parties, and I don’t remember this one being any different than the others – except, there was something unexplainably magical about the evening that had me staring at the ceiling when I got in bed that night wondering what had happened, why it happened, and if anyone else had the same experience.  I still don’t know.

That was the first time I ever recall experiencing Kairos time, as opposed to Chronos time which is what most of us live by – or should I say controlled by – Chronos time being the chronological time we are so familiar with, that constant linear progression of seconds, minutes, hours, days, and years, time that is measured and quantifiable. Kairos time, on the other hand, is not bound by the constraints of a clock or calendar, instead is focused on the quality of the moment.  Simply put, if Chronos is quantity, Kairos is quality.

For most of my life I assumed Kairos moments were inherently rare, something that occurred every few years or even every few decades.  That had been my experience at least.  But as I age I find that Kairos moments occur way more often than that, probably every time the clock ticks if we happen to be paying attention.  As author Frederick Buechner once described they occur when “taking your children to school and kissing you wife goodbye.  Eating lunch with a friend.  Trying to do a decent day’s work.  Hearing the rain patter against the window.”  I would agree.

My New Year’s resolution is to pay more attention – to that precious time with my grandchildren, having breakfast each morning with my wife, enjoying time with friends – for Kairos is sacred time, revealing to us that “the kingdom of God is near.”  Buechner says, “there is no event so commonplace but that God is present within it, always hiddenly, [yet] always leaving you room to recognize him.”

“See that you also excel in this grace of giving.”  – 2 Corinthians 8:7 

Remember O. Henry’s famous classic short story, The Gift of the Magi?  Della and Jim were two lovebirds each determined to buy the other an extravagant gift for Christmas, but because of their meager income neither could afford it.  So, to raise the money Della cropped off a huge chunk of her gorgeous brown hair, her most prized possession, and sold it for a tidy sum.  Likewise, Jim hocked his precious gold watch, his most prized possession, an heirloom from his father and grandfather.  But in a twist of irony, Della had used the money from her cropped hair to purchase a platinum fob chain for the watch Jim now no longer owned, and Jim had spent his pawnshop money on a set of decorative combs for Della’s beautiful brown hair which no longer hung down her back.

For several years I accompanied my friend Tommy on short term mission trips to Central America where we would do construction work to help improve some particular impoverished area.  Each year at the end of the last day I noticed Tommy would take off his shoes, then meticulously clean them with a towel before quietly gifting them to one of the men he had befriended who happened to wear his size.  The irony is that Tommy had the means, if he had chosen to do so, to purchase a whole truckload of brand new shoes and have them shipped into that village providing shoes for everyone.  Yet, he chose to give a man his own shoes, a gift that might touch his heart as well as protect his feet.

When I think about Della’s and Jim’s extravagant gifts to each other, or Tommy departing that Honduran worksite barefoot so another man could have some shoes, I am reminded of the irony of God sending Jesus to earth in the form of a tiny infant born in a smelly sheep pen to a small town unwed teenage girl, when He could have sent him instead mounted on a white stallion as General Jesus leading legions of heavily armed angels who could have quickly straightened out that whole Roman empire mess.

So, how does one excel in the grace of giving?  We can find the answer in O. Henry’s story, or Tommy’s humility in the way he gave away his shoes, but certainly in what Jesus taught and demonstrated during his time on earth; for money, power, and might only go so far, but it is love and sacrifice that changes hearts, and changed hearts change the world.  Wishing you a Merry Christmas, and may God bless you in the New Year.