Is your life significant? Are you making a contribution to this world? How will you be remembered 100 years from now? What are your values as far as significance is concerned? What is significance anyway? By whose definition?
I admit that I think about such questions from time to time and over the years my convictions have changed substantially. I often think of a friend of mine when I consider these questions. He was a pastor for probably 45 years at least. Years ago I recall a denominational leader saying to me about this pastor-- "Well, you know, Thomas (not his real name), is really a 2 cylinder kind of guy. He has no horsepower." Even then, I was angry with that assessment. I knew Thomas quite well. It is true, he pastored a church in a little town. Neither the town nor the church really grew much from year to year. He had always pastored those kinds of churches. But in my eyes Thomas was a great pastor. He was as steady as the Rock of Gibralter. He delivered on his promises. I could count on his word to be true. He rarely ruffled feathers but neither did he create stormy conflicts.
One day at a retreat for pastors, Thomas and his wife told the story of how they had served a church during the turbulent 60's near San Francisco. Thomas talked about coming to his office in the morning and often finding hippies sleeping on the church lawn sleeping off hangovers. He stopped to talk to them and bought coffee for them. Almost all the pastoral couples at that retreat were much younger than Thomas and his wife. They sat with renewed respect and awe as Thomas told story after story about how people were positively impacted by his gentle, quiet, caring touch. Thomas became a hero and a role model to the other pastors that day. For years afterwards, people talked about that special evening we all shared together.
Over the years I lost track of Thomas and his wife but in the past few years we reconnected again. A few months ago Thomas died. If ever a person of faith were to hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant!", I am sure they applied to Thomas. That is what he was all his life--- Faithful!
Since Thomas has died I have again wondered about this matter of significance. How do we measure it? All I can think of are the words, "It is required of a steward that he be found faithful! I think of the parables of the men to whom a stewardship was given. The one who buried it and did nothing was condemned. The other two, although the return on the exercise of their stewardship varied greatly, were both given identical words of commendation by their master. So my conclusion of the matter is this-- Faithfulness in what you do with what you have been given---------- that is the bottom line. If the assessment that my friend Thomas was a "2 cylinder" kind of person was accurate, well then,--- the measure of his significance is about his degree of faithfulness to those 2 cylinders!
I believe we use a false measuring stick to determine how significant we are. As young adults we want to prove ourselves to our company or to our family. We are filled with zeal and enthusiasm. Perhaps we want to prove something to ourselves! We worship at the altar of hard work and sacrifice and sometimes sell our souls for a promotion or advancement in the company. In so doing we often sell something else-- our influence on our family for instance. We may also sell our own dignity and sense of identity.
Then what happens? Our company is taken over by another and suddenly we are not needed! If we are extremely fortunate,( and rare in this day), we might even make it for 30 years or so with the same firm. Then we are given a watch and perhaps a plaque to hang on the wall telling how much our services were appreciated. Very soon another aspiring and ambitious employee is enthusiastically ensconced at the desk we once worked from, and no one even remembers our name. Just how significant do we feel now?
Significance is not about bank accounts, academic success, titles, amount of accrued pensions and retirement funds, size of house, golf scores, etc etc. It is about faithfulness! Knowing you have done your best each day with what you had to work with is a great way to live. Do not look at the way society measures significance! It is often a false measuring device. Fame, wealth, name recognition ,etc., are good for the ego and you may be led to believe you are loved and valued. Truth is, more often than not, people will use you and your assets to forward their own agendas and purposes. This is not a real measurement of significance. Living each day knowing that you have given it your best shot-- that's the way to live! You will sleep well at night!
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