Make an inventory of everyone who has given you an “assist” in life and be grateful for them - Daily Reflections November 7,2015

CELEBRATE THE OTHER

 

One cannot miss the affection Paul had for the innumerable others that helped him in his ministry. The First Reading is an honor roll of people Paul felt a debt of gratitude to, people he credited as indispensable in the exercise of his ministry as missionary of Christ. Great as he was, Paul never paid attention to himself. In fact, he would often refer to himself as “the least of the apostles, not deserving to be called an apostle” (1 Corinthians 15:9). As far as Paul was concerned, he was nothing without the others who assisted him.

       Search the Scriptures and you will find that God is displeased with arrogance. “I hate pride and arrogance,” we read in Proverbs 8:13. In 1 Samuel 2:3, we are reminded, “Do not let arrogance issue from your mouths.” Proverbs 16:18 says, “As humility goes before honor, pride comes before a fall.”

       May I suggest some practical tips to avoid the trap of giving ourselves too much self-importance?

       First of all, don’t take your successes seriously. Max Lucado is one of the most successful Christian writers/preachers of our time. I read that he would often bring his money and count them in a cemetery to remind him that he could not take it with him, keeping in mind the words of Scriptures: “People come to the world with nothing, they take with them nothing” (see Ecclesiastes 5:15).

      Secondly, take conscious effort to celebrate the significance of others. John Stockton is the NBA all-time leader in assists made and was recently inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame. (An assist is a statistic counted when a teammate passes the ball to another in such a way as to make it possible for that teammate to score a goal easily.) We usually notice only the man who scores the goal, but as John Stockton said, “In every goal is a hidden assist.”

       To celebrate the significance of others is to realize that in every “goal” we have made in life, there are people who “assisted” us in the background, without whom it would not have been easy or even possible. Fr. Joel Jason

 

REFLECTION QUESTION: Make an inventory of everyone who has given you an “assist” in life and be grateful for them.

 

Thank You, Lord, for the gift of “others.” May I be a helpful “other” to another as well. Amen.