There are plenty of great men and women in this world who can be termed 'great' not because they were perfect but because of the things they overcame to accomplish their soul's passion. Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Mother Theresa, Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, etc, all great people who will forever be remembered for their moral fortitude to never give up, no matter how hard it got.
Is it wrong to want that sort of achievement in your life? To want to be remembered for generations because you had the strength to stand when others couldn't is that wrong? Someone told me the other day that this desire was vanity, to want to be lauded for great works. But I don't think you could have told a poor lumberjack from Nebraska that he would make such monumental decisions impacting millions of lives in his generation and those to come that he would be a groundbreaking moral man who stood for an unpopular and uncomfortable belief - that all men were created equal. Not only that, but to make the decision that forced families against each other, tore lives apart and put the very country he was trying to help build into a civil war. No, I don't think Abraham Lincoln thought he would be remembered greatly when he signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
I'm getting nostalgic so bear with me, here. I've long ago accepted the fact that my dad was a great man. He's no Abe Lincoln, but he is, indeed, a great man. I always thought it was fun when people said to me, "Aren't you Kenny Mills' kid?" I've never once denied the fact, because I was proud to accept my heritage. And I wasn't driven by vanity to have done so, but pride in that despite all the hard circumstances of our life, my dad never balked at making hard decisions, unpopular ones that often led to hard times, to follow God's will for his life. And, in doing this, taught me that hard work and dedication to your life's passion was not vanity, but pride in the calling and gifts that are given to each of us by God.
It could never be vain to want to do more and be more than the average. It can't be wrong to want to push yourself to make your parents proud because you took their lessons of hard work and faith and put them into action in your own life - in fact, I'd say we have an obligation to make sure that all their work and all their trials and tribulations were honored in our victories. This is what gives our lives meaning and value.
I also don't think vanity allows for the kind of hard work it takes to achieve 'greatness'. If you asked my dad if he were a great man he would deny it outright and probably cut a funny joke. But, in doing so, it would just make him all that much greater. Greatness doesn't applaud itself, it just is. I think in this, as in all things, we can turn to scripture, "But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then." - Matthew 19:30 [NLT] Those who think themselves great are vain, because greatness does not come from within our thinking. Greatness comes from what Jesus taught us in all the things He did, He served others with everything He did. As did Abe Lincoln, as did Mother Theresa, as did all the others, they lived in service of their fellow man, and most often, in service of God - this is greatness. This is what makes us all great in our own way.
We may never have the occasion to sign a life altering law on Capitol Hill that will change the lives of millions for generations to come, we may never make a discovery that would alter life as we know it, we may never have to suffer so that others could know freedom, but we do have the opportunity every day to help those who are closest to us. The homeless guy who you just had to stop and give $5 to the other day, and forgot about it - you are great to him. The $20 offering to a missionary in Kenya - the lives who will come to know Christ through that offering are great! The prayers for others when they are sick, when you think it is a trivial matter - are just as great and important as when it is life threatening. Everything that we do for the benefit of others is great.
I'll stop now, and I apologize for droning on about this. But I am passionate about it, because I want to live up to the legacy of my father and mother and my grandparents and live my life for God and to the service of His people. I don't want to fade into nothingness and have my life meaningless and not tried to influence others to choose Christ and to never give up their faith. No, I want to give hope to those without it. I want to love those who forgot how to. I want to give my heart and home to children that the world forgot and I want to do it all to the glory of God. Oh how I don't want my life to have meant nothing.
Enjoy this day that the Lord has made - and don't forget His greatest commandment - do unto others. ~ KW
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