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In 1905, Albert Schweitzer turned from his well-established and highly accomplished career in philosophy, music, and theology to medicine so that he could work in Africa on behalf of the Paris Missionary Society. Explaining his decision, he wrote, “For years I have been giving of myself in words;” he no longer wished to talk a good game but to live authentically. “My life is my argument,” is how he came to summarize his decision.
That stark statement caught me up short when I first read it, causing me to consider what the content of my life argued for. Apart from the words I speak (after all, I’m in a profession of great talkers), what did the content of my life actually reveal? The Letter of James (2:18) in the New Testament says this: “I by my works will show you my faith.” That’s patently obvious when I apply it to others. As always, the trick is in the self-application, and quite frankly, I’m generally less good at that.
Short of a radical career change and trekking off to some other part of the world, what does your life argue for right where you are? Say, Monday at 3 p.m., Friday at 10 p.m. or Sunday at 9 a.m.? The question is this: What do I value most of all and how does that show up in real time? Like today for instance…
Rev. Dr. Stephen P. Bauman is the Senior Minister at Christ Church.