My Last Weblog Essay

Actually (hopefully) this is not my last essay. The title to today’s effort was suggested by the highly provocative title to a lecture program at my university some years ago: ‘The Last Lecture Series.’ As was then implied, the lecture given by the speaker was to be his/her best effort to impart some very important, even critical message to the audience in the hope that it could change their lives for good.

If this were my last weblog essay, my last shot, and I felt that it might, indeed, be the catalyst for changing someone’s life for good, I would, of course, extend the invitation for the reader to truly learn of and Come Unto Christ, as I had done many years ago for that decision has, as the poet Frost said, “[made] all the difference.” There were many ramifications growing from that decision. It was my most important decision.

But since perhaps three-fifths of my regular handful of readers have already done that, and perhaps two-fifths have no intention (yet) of doing that, I will not present that essay at this time. HOWEVER, I will speak of something that weighs heavily upon my mind. To me, what follows is important.

I have been thinking that as a people we Americans, blessed as we have been, have not really, experientially, known what has been and continues to be the lot of millions upon millions of our fellow human beings throughout the world and has been throughout world history. The suffering, the hardships, the deprivations, the fear, the dislocations, the hopelessness—all the sad and negative qualifiers may have been in the periphery of our consciousness—we may read about these things in the newspapers and see them on television—but most of us have not experienced any of them to any degree or for any length of time.

The causes of these calamities of life have been many: war; earthquakes; tsunamis; volcano eruptions; slavery; criminal assault; serious accidents; drought; famine; plagues; fire; floods; pestilence; political tyranny; disease. The catalog has many other entries.

Although it may seem that each of these evils is independent of the other, I believe that there are many connections. I believe that we bring much misery upon ourselves by the choices we make: who we elect or allow to be our leaders; what we do with our educational opportunities; the food we choose to eat and our personal health habits; where we decide to live or build our houses; what we decide to do with our discretionary income—or time; how fast we decide to drive our automobiles; what kind of preparations we have made for possible emergencies or disasters; the influences we invite into our lives; etc., etc.

I guess today’s effort is a warning and an invitation to open a dialogue about these things with ourselves and with other significant people in our lives—and then to do something about it.

We need to stop and assess our current status and direction. We need to look at our vulnerabilities and our resources. We need to look at the odds of any of these negatives potentially affecting us. We need to try to project what could happen to us if/when these things come to our doorstep. We need to systematically start to address, in our own small way, the issues that have affected and afflicted all of humanity for they will, inexorably, become our issues.

Since our situation or the bleakness of our future, if we quit ignoring it and candidly look at it, may appear to be overwhelming or inevitable, we must not collapse into or remain in apathy. Help is available for us and our help should be made available for others. We need to be proactive—active before the fact—in our preparation and planned contributions.

Each of us has a gift of some kind that could, if properly used, help avoid, treat, mitigate or ameliorate the miseries of a world in turmoil.

As stated before, we have to resolve, wherever possible, to not be part of the problem, and if spared resolve to be part of the solution for those who are not so blessed.

I end with these words from a song I know:
Have I done any good in the world today? Have I helped anyone in need?
Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad?
If not, I have failed indeed.
Has anyone’s burden been lighter today because I was willing to share?
Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?
When they needed my help was I there?
Then wake up and do something more
Than dream of your mansions above.
Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure,
A blessing of duty and love.
(Will L. Thompson)