Lesson on Commitment From Unusual Sources

Sometimes, I have been amazed the lengths to which people will go to get through life by dishonest means. One of the first times I remember thinking about this was when I was an associate pastor at Meridian Street UMC. We had a substantial amount of aid we could give to people who were in need. It was enough that people made appointments with me. We had certain rules, of course. Sometimes, it felt like we were  really helping a person or family over a rough spot. Too often, however, people had quite clever stories. After a few questions, I could tell that they had learned the ropes in Indianapolis of how to get money out of every organization they could. They were crafty. They had a certain type of ingenuity. I wondered how much time they spent on developing their story. I also wondered what would happen in their lives if they would direct all that ingenuity and creativity toward something productive and that met a need in the lives of others.

Yes, people can be creative, crafty, and ingenious, when it serves their purposes.

One of baseball’s great players  —  a contender in the home-run record sweepstakes, the Chicago Cubs’ Sammy Sosa  —  had hit over 500 career home runs when he broke his bat during a game on June 2, 2003. According to Sports Illustrated (June 10, 2003), the bat had been drilled out to make it lighter, and filled with cork to muffle the hollow sound when bat connected with ball.  Sosa called the incident a misunderstanding, claiming that he had “accidentally” grabbed a corked bat that he used during practice.

I am not sure if what Sammy said was true. I would have to trust some of my baseball friends on that one. However, it has the appearance of being crafty.

I hope this story brings a little smile.

A mathematician, an accountant and an economist apply for the same job. The job interviewer calls in the mathematician and asks, “What does two plus two equal?” The mathematician replies, “Four.” The interviewer asks, “Four exactly?” The mathematician looks at the interviewer incredulously and says, “Yes, four exactly.” Then the interviewer calls in the accountant and asks the same question: “What does two plus two equal?” The accountant says, “On average, four — give or take 10 percent — but on average, four.”

Then the interviewer calls in the economist and poses the same question: “What does two plus two equal?” The economist gets up, locks the door, closes the shade, sits down next to the interviewer, and says, “What do you want it to equal?”

            Here is another story to bring a smile.

Two accountants are in a bank when armed robbers burst in. While several of the robbers take the money from the tellers, others line up the customers, including the accountants, and proceed to take their wallets, watches, etc. While this is going on, the first accountant jams something into the second accountant’s hand. Without looking down, the second accountant whispers, “What is this?” The first accountant replies, “It’s that $50 I owe you.

I am not suggesting that Christians should admire what they did. However, I wonder if we who would like to make a difference in the world for good could learn something from such folks. They have made a decision regarding what was important to them. They have committed themselves fully to it. They are willing to spend much thought and energy toward doing what they are doing to get ahead.

What if we were willing to be every bit as decisive, crafty, ingenious, and focused as they are, but on doing what is right and good?

You might want to read Luke 16:1-13 as some background on this reflection.