The Sin of Contentment, pt. 2
My grandfather passed away in 1991. He was 87 years old. He spent his entire life on one farm, dying within yards of where he was born. He never finished high school. As a matter of fact, I think he only finished 7th or 8th grade before he went to work in the coal mines of southeastern Oklahoma. He worked hard all of his life and died with a hammer in his hand. The farthest he ever traveled from home was a trip to Nashville...beyond that, West Texas was about the only long trips he ever took (and those he only took to see his children and grand-children). The highest official positions of honor he had were serving most of his life on the hometown school-board (for a school that ran about 400 students K-12) and he was a 32nd degree Mason. My grandfather was a nobody in the world's terms. He didn't achieve much, wasn't wealthy, wasn't institutionally educated, wasn't famous...he didn't change the world.

He was the greatest man I've ever known.

My grandfather was brilliant...and not just to me. I remember people from my hometown--including the highly educated school superintendant--coming to sit beneath the pecan trees near my grandfather's house to get advice from him. He was not only intelligent, he was wise. He was a faithful husband. If he had lived to it, he and my grandmother would have celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary this past year. He was a great dad and even better grandfather. His friends knew they could trust him. Recently, someone who knew him said "he's one of two men I've never heard anyone say any cross word about". Because he didn't desire fame, wealth, status, or power, he didn't use people. As far as I can tell, his only motivation in life was to be a good, hard-working man.

There's a contentment found in such a life that is rare in this world. It's not enough for us anymore to simply be a good man (or woman). We must achieve. We must accomplish. We must build. We must pursue pleasure. All the pursuits that left the Preacher feeling that life is lived in vain.

In our culture we cannot be content to live in our "starter home" for more than a few years. In our culture we cannot be content on the salaries we make. In our culture we cannot be content with the relationships we have. In our culture we cannot be content to be followers. In our culture we cannot be content to be a "nobody" in the world's eyes...rejecting the pursuit of rank, fame, or power for ourselves. To be content in such ways in our culture is a sin.
posted by Jimmy at 7:32 PM | |