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“God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”  Genesis 1:27 

We’re all capable of much more than we think we are.

When I was in high school we had a track coach who tried to convince us that there is no limit how fast a person can run.  We thought he was out of his mind, of course.  Who, for example, could ever imagine someone running a hundred-yard dash in, say, three seconds?  Truth is, though, the coach was not out of his mind, he was simply challenging the limitations we held in our own minds.  Plus, there was validation for his theory – an event that occurred on May 6, 1954 in Oxford, England when Roger Bannister became the first runner in recorded history to run a mile in less than four minutes.  Prior to that there had been a universal belief that it was physically impossible for a human being to run a mile that fast. . . But we’re all capable of much more than we think we are.

Who will ever forget, even if only from history, President John F. Kennedy’s famous speech to a joint session of Congress on May 25, 1961.  “I believe,” he said, “that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.”  Was he out of his mind, many thought at the time?  No, like my old coach he was simply challenging the limitations we held in our own minds.  And we all know the rest of the story.  On July 20, 1969, before the end of the decade, Apollo 11 landed the first humans on the moon before returning safely to earth on July 24. . . We’re all capable of much more than we think we are.

What parent has not recognized more potential in their children than their children are able to see in themselves?  And if that’s true about parents and children, imagine the potential God must see in each one of us.  For, “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him.”  Therefore, doesn’t it stand to reason that if we are made in the image of the Omnipotent God, that we’re capable of much more than we think we are?  Consider that when you face your next challenge.  I’ll bet you’ll discover that you are much more capable than you ever realized.

“I will trust and not be afraid.”  Isaiah 12:2 

Each day life presents us with a smorgasbord of surprises.  In fact, the most certain thing there is about life is the uncertainty of it.  Our nature is, however, to view that as mostly something to be feared.  And while it is true that uncertainty is sometimes linked with tragedy such as the recent hurricane that pummeled the country of Haiti and much of our east coast, it can also be a great source of joy and delight, often occurring in small ways such as the taste of food, the refreshment of the morning air, the laughter of children, or casual conversation with a friend.  The late Oswald Chambers explained it this way:  “. . . we do not know what a day may bring forth.  This is generally said with a sigh of sadness, it should be rather an expression of breathless expectation.” 

Perhaps our fear of surprise is because our best laid plans are so often disrupted by it.  The great Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796) mused about this in his poem “To a Mouse”.  Written as an apology to a mouse who had built her nest beneath some stalks in the middle of a cornfield, only to have it demolished by the blade of the farmer’s plow while plowing the field, the farmer/narrator attempts to tell the little mouse that he meant her no harm.  He goes to great lengths in describing the imagined plight of the poor mouse, how she had toiled to build a safe dwelling for her family that would protect them against the approaching bitter cold of winter, only to have her plans go awry.  Then, after a lengthy apology the narrator shifts gears a bit and becomes philosophical, and that is where we pick up the familiar line:  “The best laid schemes of mice and men / Go often askew, / And leave us nothing but grief and pain, / For promised joy!  Still you are blest, compared with me! / The present only touches you: / But oh! I backward cast my eye, / On prospects dreary! / And forward, though I cannot see, / I guess and fear!” 

Poor little mouse, victim that she was, is to be envied; for she lives with no preconceived notions of what each day might bring, whether tragedy or joy.  And since we too do not know what a day may bring forth, shouldn’t it begin with “an expression of breathless expectation”?  For in the words of Isaiah, “I will trust and not be afraid.”

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. . .”

–          Matthew 6:19-20 

How much is enough?  Arguably, this may be one of the most relevant questions of our modern age in the Western world.  If we base our evidence on the excessive consumption, we see around us there is no doubt about the extraordinary buying power that exists in our world today.  But is there a direct correlation between more and happier, and if so how much is enough?

Isabel was a Honduran woman who resided in a deeply impoverished barrio community just outside the city of Tegucigalpa.  For a week she and I worked side by side on a project where in a short time we became great friends.  At the end of that week as we were saying goodbye Isabel hugged me, then handed me a sweet note written in Spanish on a small tattered card about the size of a business card.  I didn’t know what it said but I clearly understood the message.  What struck me about Isabel and others within her community was that in spite of their poverty they were extraordinarily happy people.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta, perhaps the most renowned servant of the poor in our modern age, once noted of the Western world, “I have walked at night in your streets, I have entered your homes.  I have found in them more poverty than in India.”  What she was referring to was not economic poverty, but poverty of the soul.  Which begs the question, how much is enough?

To live in a place where opportunities abound for financial success is a blessing and a privilege, but what are we to do with our abundance and how much is enough?  The answer is that enough requires two things.  First we must recognize that more is never enough, for it never satisfies.  And next our hearts must be transformed from selfish desires to selfless concerns, to helping others and serving God.    In other words, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. . .” 

“Give everyone what you owe him:  If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”  – Romans 13:7 

Back in the early 1980’s a friend with whom I worked at the time had, along with some business partners, made substantial investments in commercial real estate, and in order to do so had borrowed heavily from the banks.  The properties they owned had appreciated nicely, almost to a point where they would be able to cash out and become wealthy men.  But then the the economy stalled, real estate values plummeted, and their holdings suddenly became worth much less than the debt they owed.  So the partners, being under water and unable to repay the loans, decided to just hand over the keys to the lenders, defaulting on their loans, walking away from their commitment.

Such was not the case, though, with my friend who chose a different path from that of his partners.  Instead he felt obligated to honor the agreement he had made with the banks.  He had, after all, signed what is commonly known as a “promissory note”, a promise to abide by the terms of the loan agreement.  And for years afterward I watched as he labored tirelessly, while living frugally, to make good on his promise.

Lending institutions determine the creditworthiness of a borrower primarily on the value of the collateral and the financial ability to service the debt.  But there is another important dimension to creditworthiness I learned from an old mentor, one much harder to measure – that is the willingness and determination of the borrower to repay.  More than financial resources, it is about integrity, doing the right thing.  And in the case of my friend, it was ultimately a matter of his integrity that proved his creditworthiness.

“Give everyone what you owe him,” said the Apostle Paul, and my friend did just that, every penny.  But not all debts are repayable, at least not in dollars.  How do we repay, for example, our parents for the gift of life, our teachers and mentors for their knowledge and wisdom, our loved ones for their companionship, or God for our many blessings?  There is only one way to repay debts of gratitude, and that is through thankfulness, and by blessing the lives of others when we can.  Otherwise, we can never be creditworthy.

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”  –  Matthew 6:33 

Put first things first.  That’s how Stephen Covey describes Habit number 3 in his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.  In other words, highly effective people identify what is most important in their lives and make it top priority, centered on their mission rather than being seduced by outside forces.  “The key,” as Covey puts it, “is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”

In my former career I was responsible for a bond trading operation for a major Wall Street investment firm.  Every day was a beehive of activity, phones ringing constantly, squawk boxes blaring, people shouting across the room, like a perpetual fire drill.  And everything was urgent; the ringing phones demanded immediate attention, impatient investors who needed someone to help them “right now!” Yet in the heat of battle big decisions of utmost importance involving substantial sums of money had to be made.  It was from those big decisions that our profitability was derived, which was our life blood, our reason for being, the purpose of our existence.  If we were not careful, though, the urgency of the ringing phones and blaring squawk boxes could become seductive, distracting us from the importance of the big decisions that had to be made.  In other words, we had to manage in the midst of that perpetual fire drill to put first things first.

In a sense, our bond trading desk imitated real life, for in real life we constantly encounter urgent demands on our time and energy, problems to be solved, projects to complete, impatient people who need us to help them “right now!”  And it is not as if we can or should ignore those urgent demands, for indeed they must be responded to.  Rather it is a matter of prioritizing because if we are not careful the demands of life’s urgent matters can become seductive, distracting us from what is most important, our reason for being, the purpose of our existence, our life mission.  Covey teaches us in Habit number 3 that in order to be most effective we must put first things first.  Long before Covey, though, Jesus also instructed us to put first things first, and he was very specific.  “But first seek his kingdom and his righteousness.”  Do that and the rest will fall into place.