This is the season when selections are made for "Person of the Year." Lists will be drawn up like the "Ten Most Intriguing People." Interviewers will fawn over such personalities and talk will be shallow and banal. I saw such a list just this week and thought, "These people did nothing of note to be singled out as special. Why would I want to listen to their vain blathering?"
It says something about life today when we look at the popular cult of celebrity. There is little to admire in many of those who are prominent in today's culture. Celebrities with marginal talent opine about politics, and athletes play games while we lazily lounge and watch on our big screen televisions.
Admit it, we all have more than a measure of triviality in our lives. It is tempting to live vicariously through some famous person when our days are filled with ordinary matters like work, raising kids and making ends meet. When we tune into the world around us, we hear a lot of bad news about war, natural disasters and the latest political debate.
Where is the exceptional life? Where is the life well-lived? Where is the life we yearn to live that is whole, complete and filled with meaning? Where is the life we can hold up to our children and grandchildren as worthy of imitation?
What if we created annually a list of the "Ten Best-Lived Lives?" Could we find 10 common people, who have no celebrity status, who have lived exceptional lives, being fully human? I suspect we could if we looked around our neighborhoods and among the people we interact with each day. Perhaps the reason we don't is that the celebrity and status of those who entertain us mesmerize us. We miss those who lead common lives with honor and dignity, serving rather than being served. And our lives are the less for this.
I spend a lot of my days visiting and counseling with people who live their lives, as best they can, by the Word of God. Recently I have spent time with some who are elderly and are dealing with illness and suffering. It is my job as a minister to encourage them and help them understand why they suffer and give them hope.
