Impressive

One of my favorite web sites is Despair.com. It is a company devoted to “Demotivation.” Their whole deal is making fun of the motivational paraphernalia that is sold and displayed in offices all across America. They sell the usual posters, T-shirts, mouse pads, coffee mugs, and calendars that motivational companies do. Only their stuff is DE-motivational. Some examples:

·        The Company Motto – At Despair, we offer the cure for hope. And for surprisingly affordable prices.

·        Believe in yourself – Because the rest of us think you’re an idiot.

·        Motivation – If a pretty poster and a cute saying are all it takes to motivate you, you probably have a very easy job. The kind robots will be doing soon.

·        Meetings – None of us is as dumb as all of us.

·        Mistakes – It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others.

·        Challenges – I expected times like this – but never thought they’d be so bad, so long, and so frequent.

·        Teamwork – Ensuring that your hard work can always be ruined by someone else’s incompetence.

·        Idiocy – Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

·        Consistency – It’s only a virtue if you’re not a screw-up.

·        Change – Politicians are like diapers. They need to be changed often and for the same reason.

I love this stuff because it puts a finger on some of the silliness of our culture. There is little doubt that we live in a shallow world of motivational sayings, silly mottos, bumper sticker philosophies, easy fixes, crazy diets, passing fads, instant celebrities, fading morality, simplistic answers and screwed up values. But since we live in and are immersed in this culture, it is difficult for us to see our culture for what it is: shallow and hollow.

Just take a moment and think of the things that seem to impress us, which we value and celebrate:

·        Money and the ability to make huge sums of money

·        Athleticism

·        An outgoing personality

·        Speaking ability

·        A Great car

·        Nice clothes

·        Singing, dancing or acting ability

·        Good looks

These things are okay, but are they to be celebrated? Aren’t these things a bit shallow? My question is, why do we not celebrate people for their positive character traits? Are they lacking? Are they too difficult to recognize? Are they unimportant?

Unfortunately, and in many ways, we, of the church, are no different than the unchurched culture. We celebrate churches and pastors of those churches that are bigger, more influential and wealthier. I have yet to attend a church leader’s conference and heard this introduction. “Ladies and gentlemen we are so excited to introduce our keynote speaker, Rev. Joe Doaks. Most of you have never heard of Rev. Doaks, so let me give you some background. He has been in the active ministry for almost 40 years. During that time he has pastored several small town churches that have had a significant impact of their communities. Joe is a wonderful, kind and loving husband who has been married to his wife, Mary, for over 40 years. Together they raised three wonderful children who are great adults, Christians, spouses, citizens and parents. Joe and Mary have been supportive of each other in all areas of life and have mentored in the faith dozens of younger Christians. They have worked together through several very difficult life challenges. They are debt free, refuse to gossip, are generous givers, truth tellers, and wonderful examples. None of Joe’s churches have experienced significant growth, but many people in the churches have grown to great spiritual depth. Would you join me in welcoming a true man of God, Joe Doaks?”

I have taken some time lately to think about this – what attributes do I celebrate in the people that I know? What is it about a person that impresses me? And when I do this, I think of my big brother. He had some awesome attributes. He was an excellent athlete and he worked had to develop his talent. He was a scholar who earned advanced degrees but studied hard to do it. He was an extraordinarily kind and thoughtful person. He was one of the few people I know that had the courage to, unfailingly and unflinchingly, tell me the truth. He was a lover. He loved our mother and father with a powerful and deep affection. He loved his siblings completely and without question. He loved his wife and adored his kids and grandchildren. He was the most consistent Christian I ever met and he was never satisfied with the depth of his walk with Christ. In our last conversation before he died, he was looking at strategies he could implement in his life to draw closer to God.

My brother Bob was never wealthy, never owned a lot of property, was not successful in the business world, was not famous, was rather quiet and wasn’t a great speaker (he mumbled). For much of his life didn’t even own a car, and when it came to dressing up, all of his taste was in his mouth. He could put together some of the most godawful outfits you can imagine. He didn’t leave a huge inheritance to his kids. But I must tell you, when it comes to the things that really matter, Bob was impressive.

Copyright © 2013, William T. McConnell, All Rights Reserved.