Vol. 4, No. 11

January, 1968

Stuff About Things

Here's a new look at ulcers: For years my doctors have been telling me to "slow down" "mustn't let things bother you" "those problems will be here when you are gone" "take more vacations" etc. I think I got my ulcers over an internal battle with my conscience, brought on by too much relaxing. But I could always say I was following doctor's orders-- until some smart aleck up at Scott-White Clinic said he thought the world had benefited most by the concerned ' the "got to do something about it" guys; and where would we be if somebody did not have back trouble, break-downs or ulcers in the effort to change the course of human events. The good doctor might just have something there. Suppose everyone decided to "take it easy". It's hard enough now to find a place to hunt that is not full of red-shirted relaxers. A student once reported to the professor (I believe it was Agassiz) that he did not have his theme prepared because he had not felt well. The Swiss naturalist replied that few great things would ever be accomplished if they could be done only by those who "felt well". People who do great things, do them against odds.

They can't sleep for thinking about the needs, and ways of overcoming the problems. They give themselves, maybe they "burn out", but their kind have a tremendous effect upon the world. We are not put in this world to "relax"; we are here to accomplish, to serve as faithful stewards, to glorify God. As the editor of the Gospel Guardian, in a splendid editorial 12-14-67 said, "It is certainly true that, expressed or unexpressed, realized or unrealized, the 'sense of mission' dominates every life that is worth the living." Again, "Life is a trust, a stewardship, a sacred committment. Man is not free "to live his own life," for his life is not his own; he has been "bought with a price." An exaggerated sense of importance may turn a man's head; and pride is so prevalent we must wave a warning. But genuine "total committment" and a "sense of mission" do not produce selfish, egocentric pride, nor is one's "mission" served by such. It is only by forgetting one's self that we can begin to sense a real purpose here; and trade the harsh competitive struggle for a "place among people" for the more meaningful battle against error, and a place with God. [Previous Article] [Volume 4, No. 12]

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