The Statesman Living a Life with the Maximum Significance
Download a PDF of this essayThe Statesman, I am convinced, wishes to invest his or her life in the most significant way to improve quality of life for fellow humans. For decades, I have been privileged to walk alongside Statesmen. I have been greatly influenced by listening to their hearts. As I think of the desire of Statesmen to live a life of significance, I think of a brief commentary that I read early in my adult life that has greatly impacted the remainder of my life. It is by A.W. Tozer and is entitled “On Breeding Spotted Mice”, click the button below to read:
I encourage you to read this before proceeding. This commentary describes a man who, because he was independently wealthy and did not need to work to support himself, invested his whole life in attempting to breed the perfect spotted mouse. This commentary ultimately addresses the issue of investing our lives in such a way to make the greatest contribution upon our fellow humans during the limited time we have. Interestingly, it goes beyond the impact of our earthly lifetime in making an impact. The commentator concludes that man made in the image of God must invest with eternity in mind. This, of course, begins with investing in our own eternal destiny, then, investing in other humans and their eternal destiny. Our Creator addresses this issue through one of His servants:
You are … God’s building. According to God’s grace that was given to me, I have laid a foundation as a skilled master builder… But each one must be careful how he builds on it. For no one can lay any other foundation than what has been laid down. That foundation is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on that foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, each one’s work will become obvious, for the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire; the fire will test the quality of each one’s work. If anyone’s work that he has built survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, it will be lost, but he will be saved [based upon having the foundation of Jesus]; yet it will be like an escape through fire (1 Corinthians 3:9-15).
Our Creator describes that we must lay a foundation for our lives, consisting of Jesus. Based upon that foundation, we build in such a way as to last or otherwise perish. We are clearly admonished to build in a way that will survive when tested with fire at the conclusion of our earthly lives. With this perspective, what should the Statesman invest in as goals? We have the opportunity to invest our lives recognizing the eternal significance of the human life. And we recognize that we are accountable for each life we are responsible for. This is where the object of our discussion failed in investing his life in breeding the perfect spotted mouse. As servants to our fellow human beings, we have the opportunity to invest in eternal beings, perhaps the greatest of all opportunities.
It is frequently worth taking stock of our lives and recognizing what goals we work toward that may be of no greater significance than this sad man’s investing in breeding the perfect spotted mouse. As beings with an eternal destiny, we want to invest our lives in efforts with eternal significance.
APPLICATION TO THE LIFE OF THE STATESMAN:
- What are the goals in my life that have eternal significance as I invest in them?
- What are goals in my life that may distract me from improving the quality of life of my fellow humans and may be akin to breeding the perfect spotted mouse?
- When I envision making life better for my fellow humans, does my concern extend to the quality of their eternal life?