Remembered
The New York Times carried an obituary of Victor Dorman. It read, "Victor Dorman, who helped change the way Americans buy cheese by putting the paper between the slices, as chairman of the Dorman Cheese Company, died on March 4th, at his home in Delray Beach, Fla. He was 80."
Dorman actually graduated from a prestigious college and fought in WWII. He lived an impressive and successful life. But in the end, it was one quirky little thing that left a lasting impact.
Pay attention to all of the details of your life. The things that you do, big and small, can leave a lasting impact.
"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms." (1 Peter 4:10).
When Are You Going To Die?
Richard Carlson, Ph.D., was an author, psychotherapist, and motivational speaker, who became famous with the success of his book, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff... and it’s all Small Stuff (1997). The book became one of the fastest-selling books of all time. It is divided into 100 brief chapters. The last chapter is entitled, “Live This Day as if It Were Your Last. It May Be.” Carlson lived his last day on December 13, 2006. He died of a pulmonary embolism during a flight from San Francisco to New York, leaving his wife and two teenage daughters.
Carlson said that he ended his book with this chapter as a reminder of how precious life and loved ones are. He wrote: “I often wonder, when listening to the news, did the person who died in the auto accident on his way home from work remember to tell his family how much he loved them?” Carlson started the 100th chapter asking, “When are you going to die? In fifty years, twenty, ten, five, today? Last time I checked, no one had told me.”
He died suddenly and unexpectedly nine years later at the age of 45.
"Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12).
A Lesson In Stacking Priorities
Video games have been entertaining people for well over 35 years, and though there have been countless titles, there are only a handful that have left a lasting impression on the world. Some games, like Pac-Man and Super Mario Bros., have had great influence on several generations, but there is one game that stands out as a fun and immersive experience, and that is Tetris.
The way the game works is simple, the player is fed variants of four blocks, which must be arranged in rows. When enough of them are lined up, they disappear. This opens up more space for more blocks to be stacked. As the game progresses, the blocks start dropping faster, making the game more challenging.
Hey, Tetris is fun, but for me, there is more to this game that just stacking pixels and trying not to allow them to stack up too high on the board. This game is a lesson on life because life is full of stacking. In fact, a huge part of life is learning how to stack responsibilities and priorities, knowing that once you eliminate one set, a new set will take its place shortly. Being a young man juggling work, a mortgage, two kids, a spouse, school, housework, and daily tasks, learning the art of stacking has never been more important in my life.
God is no stranger to the fact that life is a stacking game. In fact, He gives His children a set of priorities to follow. First, He lets His children know what is most important in the stack. When questioned by the Pharisees about which is the greatest commandment, Jesus simply replied: “To love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind” (Matthew 22:37). Right here, Jesus tells us how to stack our priorities. He doesn’t end there though, He also adds that the second greatest command is to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). The main priority of this game we call life is a fervent love for God, followed by a fervent love for others.
If you find yourself playing a game of Tetris, take a few moments to look at how you are stacking things in your own life. As the blocks of responsibility and opportunity fall into your lap, how are you placing them in your life? As easy as it is, we have to stay away from making life all about entertainment, because the truth is that life is not all about entertainment; if that were the case God would have sent us an entertainer and not a Savior. Place God as your foundation, others as the next immediate priority, and your life will be stacked for real success.
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33).