Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, “What are you doing for others?”
Martin Luther King Jr.
My son’s favorite ride at Disneyworld is Dumbo the Flying Elephant. In a few years, it will probably be Space Mountain, but right now, he is a big fan of soaring through the air on Dumbo’s back. Those of you who are parents know what that means—I have ridden the Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride more times than I can count. I like to make my son happy, so as long as he loves Dumbo, so do I. But secretly, I am longing for the Space Mountain days. Everything in due time.
On a recent trip to Disneyworld, we had already had the Dumbo experience three or four times, but my son begged to ride one more time before we left for the day. I obliged and we stepped into the long line to wait our turn. As we shuffled along, a conversation between the couple behind us piqued my interest. They were talking about the Hidden Mickeys they had spotted around the theme park that day. I had never heard of Hidden Mickeys, and we still had a long wait ahead of us, so I struck up a conversation and asked them what they were referring to.
Apparently, as they explained it to me, the early Disney Imagineers (the people who designed the Disney theme parks) hid discreet Mickey Mouse images throughout all of the parks and various attractions. The images are simple—three connected, intersecting circles that look like the outline of Mickey’s head and ears—and they are everywhere. They are etched into pavement, painted on the walls of rides, built into the fences, and arranged in the landscaping. Disneyworld is jam-packed with these subtle Hidden Mickeys, but most people don’t see them because they don’t know to look for them. I sure didn’t.
Simple awareness is a powerful thing. When my son and I said our final good-bye to Dumbo and headed toward the parking lot tram, we started seeing Hidden Mickeys everywhere. They began popping out of the woodwork, literally. We had been at the park all day without seeing a single Hidden Mickey, but as soon as we became aware of their existence, we realized we had been surrounded by them all along.
Awakening Awareness
The Greatness Principle and those Hidden Mickeys have something in common. Just as my son and I had to be aware of the Hidden Mickeys before we could see them, you have to become aware of the opportunities to bless others that surround you every day or those opportunities will pass you by sight unseen.
As The Greatness Principle says, when you bless others, God blesses you. It makes sense then that the first step in living by The Greatness Principle is to look for opportunities to bless others every day. You come in contact with countless needs and chances to bless others, but you won’t be able to see them until you become aware that they exist.
I’ll cut you a little slack here. Your lack of awareness isn’t necessarily your fault. By nature, we are selfish people. We tend to walk through life focused on our own interests—what we want, what we need, what we have to do to get ahead, what makes us feel good—rather than focused on the people around us. It’s all too easy for us to fall into the “every man for himself” attitude by default, forgetting time and again that life is bigger than our personal concerns.
We aren’t the first generation to struggle with selfishness either. This element of human nature has been rearing its head throughout history. When Paul wrote his famed letter to the Philippian church in the early 60s AD, he already felt the need to remind his readers to live outwardly focused lives. I mentioned these verses in the last chapter, but they are worth examining again:
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. (Phil. 2:3–4)
Paul’s words ring as true—arguably even truer—today as they did when they were written so many centuries ago.
Interestingly, even though we are self-focused by nature, most of us know that focusing on ourselves doesn’t bring much satisfaction or joy. If we’re honest, we can admit that we feel most alive and happiest when we shift our focus off of ourselves and onto other people. It’s no wonder a book that opens with the line “It’s not about you” became, next to the Bible, one of the most bestselling books in the history of the world.[4]
We all know that it’s not about us, and deep down in the recesses of our soul we are hungry to connect with purposes bigger than our own. We want more for ourselves. We want to bless other people; we want to receive God’s blessing. Still, we fall into the rut of making it about us. Here’s some good news: you and I can break out of that rut by learning to become aware.
God puts people in your path every day that you can bless—people he wants you to bless. But if you aren’t walking in awareness, you are missing those opportunities. If you want to live by The Greatness Principle—if you want to experience the abundant life God has for you, find significance, and grow in spiritual maturity—you have to be aware of the needs around you and be on the lookout for opportunities to bless other people.
Take a moment to think back over the last few months of your life. Have you missed opportunities to serve other people? Have you glossed over a co-worker’s need to confide in you? Have you ignored openings to make your spouse’s life a little easier? Have you taken every opportunity you should have to encourage your children? Maybe at the time, you didn’t even realize that you were missing out on blessing others, but now, looking back, you see chances that have slipped through your fingers.
If you want to be great and receive God’s incredible blessing, you have to consciously engage in your everyday world. Practice becoming aware of the opportunities right in front of you to make someone’s life a little better, to help someone in need, to give an encouraging word, or to lighten a load. Once you open your eyes to what’s around you, you will see Hidden Mickeys—I mean, opportunities to bless others—everywhere.
The Great Compassion
Jesus often taught on the importance of seeing and seizing opportunities to bless others. In Matthew 25:34–40, a passage that has become commonly known as “The Great Compassion,” Jesus says:
Then the King will say to those on the right . . . “For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.” Then these righteous ones will reply, “Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?” And the King will say, “I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!”
In this passage, Jesus points out six specific opportunities to bless others. Keep in mind the list is not exhaustive, by any means. You could think of these opportunities as the first six of a thousand Hidden Mickeys.
Don’t assume that Jesus’s references here are merely superficial. That wouldn’t be like Jesus at all. Every situation he mentions presents us with a literal opportunity and a more figurative opportunity to engage with the people God puts around us. Let’s take a closer look at each of the six scenarios Jesus describes.
1. I was hungry and you fed me. Since you and I have full stomachs most of the time, we easily forget that there are hungry men, women, and children all around us. In your city or town, and in cities and towns throughout America, scores of people will go to bed tonight with empty stomachs. According to the organization “Feeding America,” one in every six Americans doesn’t have enough to eat, including more than one in five children.[5] Around the world, the numbers are much more staggering.
Those of us who have been blessed with plenty have a moral obligation, responsibility, and clear call from Scripture to help those who are less fortunate. But our lack of awareness keeps us at a distance. We blindly eat our three squares—in a lot of cases, we well overeat those three squares—without so much as a thought for the family down the road struggling to put food on the table. When we open our eyes to the problem of hunger, however, our perspective begins to shift and we begin to see chances to help all around us. For specific opportunities to serve the hungry, check first with your local church. They may have a food pantry you can help stock, regular outreach opportunities at a local homeless shelter, or other similar ministry initiatives you can get involved in.
Hunger exists in more than one form. While the people closest to you may have enough to eat, many of them are desperately trying to soothe the ache of emotional and spiritual hunger. They are hungry for acceptance and approval, for friendship and love. You and I have opportunities to feed emotionally hungry people every day, but we have to walk in a state of awareness, or those opportunities will pass us by. We can feed the hungry people in our lives with a kind word, with a touch, by reminding them of their worth and telling them that we love them. Most important, we can point them toward the love of God, so they can find their true fulfillment in him.
2. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. Living in the United States, we have clean water flowing out of every spigot in our homes and bottled water readily available at every market and convenience store. We are privileged. Around the world it’s a different story. More than a billion people live without access to clean water. Did you know that two million people die every year as a result of water-related illness?[6] Most of us walk around, full water bottle in hand, completely unaware. But as we open our eyes to the reality of the thirsty people in our world, we begin to see that we have the opportunity to help.
Your church may provide clean water to thirsty people in ways you don’t even realize. At my church, The Journey, we support many missionaries around the world. As part of ministering to the communities they are called to, these missionaries often work to meet the basic need for clean water by digging wells and building systems that can provide it. Check to see if your church partners with similar missionaries or organizations. If they don’t, there are many American organizations that focus on making clean water available across the globe.
Again, outside of the literal interpretation of this call, there is a heavy spiritual implication as well. Our lives are filled with spiritually thirsty people—people who are thirsty for love, encouragement, and forgiveness. Open your eyes to the thirsty people all around you and you’ll begin to see their need. You possess the ability to quench their thirst in small ways every day.
3. I was a stranger and you invited me into your home. I have a friend in North Carolina who pastors a large, thriving church. Chris Sluder, the mercy-minded gentleman I mentioned in chapter 1, is a member there. A real estate agent by trade, Chris took the initiative to step outside of his comfort zone during the height of his career and create a connection with some orphanages in a remote area of Kazakhstan. After visiting Kazakhstan and seeing the conditions the orphans were living in, he arranged for about a dozen of the kids to travel to North Carolina and stay with various host families. The families opened their homes to these children and did their best to provide them with a good experience and show them a reflection of God’s love. As a result of the arrangement, many of the Kazakh kids ended up being adopted.
My friend and his family didn’t host a child, but they did end up falling in love with one—a ten-year-old girl who was staying with another family. They felt an undeniable pull to bring this little girl—this stranger, this orphan—into their home for good, so they began the arduous process of adopting her. Now twenty, she has been fully grafted into my friend’s family. While she was still unknown, they opened their home and their lives to her, and today she is a happy, vibrant, loving member of the family.
Our relationship with God isn’t all that different. Before you and I knew him, we were strangers to his love. But God opened his home to us and invited us in. With that example as your guide, be aware of the opportunities around you to show love to strangers—to invite them into your life and community, to befriend them and give them support when they need it. You have this opportunity when someone visits your church, when you see an opening to make a new friend, when you come across someone you have the power to help by inviting him or her into your home. Be wise as you approach this command, but always be on the lookout to be a blessing to strangers.
4. I was naked and you gave me clothing. Our overstuffed closets are a visual reminder of the opportunity we have to help people who aren’t as fortunate as we are. While they may not be walking around naked, there are people all around us who are in desperate need of clothes, warm coats, and shoes. Your church may sponsor periodic clothing drives or have ongoing partnerships in place to help clothe the needy. Check with your pastor or small group leader to see how you can get involved. Many great organizations also exist to help provide people with clothing and other basic necessities. The Salvation Army is a prime example. Choose to be aware of this need so that you will be able to bless others when the opportunity arises.
5. I was sick and you cared for me. Life is so hectic that we often gloss over the sicknesses of others. We tell them we hope they feel better as we say a little prayer of thanksgiving for our own health. The truth is that sickness is a major vulnerability and, if we make ourselves aware, provides us with a great opportunity to serve others. Whether we simply take soup to a friend with a cold or sit with a family member who is facing a terminal illness, the opportunities to be a blessing are everywhere.
Physically speaking, we all get sick from time to time, but many people also live with continual spiritual and emotional sickness. Plenty of people that you come into contact with every day are facing crises of self-esteem, loneliness, and questions of worth. A simple encouraging word or other expression of love can go a long way toward helping the spiritually and emotionally sick feel better.
6. I was in prison and you visited me. People who find themselves on the fringes of our society, whatever the circumstances, are the ones who need the most love and forgiveness. Working with inmates is a more specialized call than the five calls mentioned above, but it is an important way to serve others and a powerful tool for reaching the hearts of those who have made choices that have landed them outside of accepted society. Let this verse serve as a reminder that we are to be aware of those who are outcast and that we are to show them care and concern.
Of course, we can’t leave this discussion without shifting awareness to people who are living in prisons of their own making. People in your life and mine are living in prisons of shame, prisons of despair, prisons of hurt, prisons of want, and many other prisons of their own design. Again, we need to open our eyes to the pain of the people in our sphere of influence. Then and only then will we be in a position where we can even begin to embrace The Greatness Principle and bless them.
For more ways to help, check with your local church and visit www.TheGreatnessPrinciple.com.
Descending to Greatness
Early on in my Christian faith, I mistakenly bought into the myth of ascending greatness. I used to think God would put his plans, purposes, and blessings for me on the lowest shelf, in the same way grocers put kids’ cereals on the bottom supermarket shelves. I assumed that as I matured, he would begin placing his will for me higher and higher and that, as I reached for it, I would be continually ascending to greatness.
Actually, just the opposite is true. As Christ followers, you and I don’t ascend to greatness. Rather, we descend to greatness as we become aware of the needs around us and put those needs before our own. In other words, with every step that you take in your Christian life, God moves the target lower and lower. He wants to know if you will be willing to serve as he served. He wants to know if you will humble yourself as he did. He wants to know if you will bow before him and acknowledge that you can’t achieve greatness on your own, but only through his power and principles.
God gives us open doors to humble ourselves and bless others every single day. Now that you are aware of a few of the opportunities already around you, I challenge you to be on the lookout for more. Look for chances to bless others in big ways and small ways. As you move forward in a spirit of awareness, God is going to bring opportunities out of the woodwork, guide you toward the ones he wants you to act on, and then bless you greatly in return.
What steps could you take to be more aware of the needs and opportunities surrounding you?
List some concrete ways you could bless those around you in the coming weeks.