Crossing the Line
Some wisdom from Count Tolstoy
Novelist Leo Tolstoy (remember War and Peace and/or Anna Karenina?) became convinced that humanity consists of two different sorts of people: those who care for everybody and those who only care for themselves.
Of course, I have wondered which of those categories I fit into, and how does one care for everybody, and what about those who care about some other people but not the rest of them?
Today I will address which category I fit into.
When I lived and taught in Chico, CA, an English department colleague, Dr. Ernst Shoen-Rene, was honored as the university's best professor. Ernst was fine fellow, friendly, dedicated, abounding with positive energy, and so generous he chose to divide the cash that came with the honor among all the profs in our department. A check for over $100, which I had in no way earned, landed on my desk. I pondered whether to save or squander the money or follow Ernst's example and give it away.
About half of me wanted to use the money for selfish purpose. The other half wanted to give it to a charity I liked. So, I kept half, gave half away, and decided to consider myself half selfish and half generous. Which, when later I discovered Count Tolstoy's assessment that humanity is split between those who care for everybody and those who only care for themselves, caused me to consider myself stuck in the middle.
Still later, when I gave a reading as a guest in a college writing class, after I read a couple of my stories, a student asked if I had an overall agenda with my writing. I can't remember exactly how I answered, but the question remained in the back of my mind. And now I have a better answer.
I am quite sure that all the time I have been writing, though other motives have crept in, I have followed the lead of a persistent and wildly ambitious dream that I can help a few people step over the Tolstoy line, to become less about themselves (ME or US) and more about EVERYBODY.
Of course, the first person I should help step over the line is myself. Next, I will remind those who trust Jesus that we have been commanded to love everybody (and love certainly implies sacrificial generosity). Finally, I will suggest to all those who (like me) are by nature stuck between selfish and generous that we at minimum should do our best to continually lean toward the generous side, especially when we have some extra money, or time, or while preparing to vote.
One of my craziest dreams is of a world in which a solid majority are CARE FOR EVERYBODY people. In my less orthodox moments, I wonder if what Bible commentators call the Millennium might be a parable for the age I see in this dream of mine.
In case you are unfamiliar with the Millennium concept, here's the origin.
REVELATION 20
The Thousand Years
1 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Andre Crouch gave us this fine little sermon set to music
"It Won't Be Long" you tube Amazon
Happy forever.