REMEMBER THIS
Posted by: bigguyhereagain <bigguyhereagain@...>
God won't ask what kind of car you drove; He'll ask how many people
you drove who didn't have transportation.
God won't ask the square footage of your house; He'll ask how many
people you welcomed into your home.
God won't ask about the clothes you had in your closet; He'll ask how
many you helped to cloth.
God won't ask about your social status; He will ask what kind of
class you displayed.
God won't ask how many material possessions you had; He'll ask if
they dictated your life.
God won't ask what your highest salary was; He'll ask if you
compromised your character to obtain it.
God won't ask how much overtime you worked; He'll ask if your
overtime work was for yourself or for your family.
God won't ask how many promotions you received; He'll ask how you
promoted others.
God won't ask what your job title was; He'll ask if you performed
your job to the best of your ability.
God won't ask what you did to help yourself; He'll ask what you did
to help others.
God won't ask how many friends you had; He'll ask how many people to
whom you were a friend.
God won't ask what you did to protect your rights; He'll ask what you
did to protect the rights of others.
God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived; He'll ask how you
treated your neighbors.
God won't ask about the color of your skin; He'll ask about the
content of your character.
God won't ask how many times your deeds matched your words; He'll ask
how many times they didn't.
God won't ask why it took you so long to seek Salvation; He'll
lovingly take you to your mansion in heaven, and not to the gates of Hell.
I sat next to the bed of old man, a friend for over twenty years, and
held his hand. Hal was dying. We both knew these next few days would
be his last.
We spent time reminiscing about his long and fruitful career as a
church pastor. We talked about old friends. We chatted about his
family. And I listened as he offered sage wisdom and advice to a
member of a "younger generation."
At a lull in the conversation, Hal seemed to carefully consider what
he was about to say next. Then he squeezed my hand, gazed intently
into my eyes and whispered, just loud enough for me to hear, "Nothing
is more important than relationships."
I knew that this was somehow near the pinnacle of his life's
learnings. As he considered all of his experiences -- personal,
professional, spiritual and family, this one ultimate observation
surfaced above the rest: "Nothing is more important than
relationships."
"Don't get overly caught up in your career," he seemed to be saying
to me. "Likewise, don't use people in order to achieve your goals,
then throw them away. No project, no program, no task should be
pursued at the expense of friends and family.
"Remember," I heard him saying, as clearly as if he were speaking the
words, "that in the end, only your relationships will truly matter.
Tend them well."
Writer Og Mandino puts it this way: "Beginning today," he
said, "treat everyone you meet as if he or she were going to be dead
by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness, and understanding
you can muster, and do so with no thought of any reward. Your life
will never be the same again."
At the end of a long life, my friend Hal would have agreed.
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