A Humble Man's Honor

Once upon a time there was a man who had a wife, a little girl and a driving need to prove himself amongst a community of people who -- with rare exception -- he did not actually respect or care about.

But, this drive was relentless -- albeit subtle. It quietly but effectively chose the family's hometown for them and then kept them living in a continuous state of anxiety, waiting for the fickle master to change his mind. And every time he did, it turned the family's life upside down through unemployment, financial vulnerability and the ever-humbling employment search.

This need for money and fame only ever garnished enough success to frustrate the man and keep him working and hoping for a little bit more and a little bit better -- year after year after year.

Then one day, it happened again. The fickle master stomped his foot, the other shoe dropped, and the job was lost. With it -- wonderously -- went the man's inherent need to stay on this self-defeating road to nowhere. His path would soon be detoured to a life of providing for his family and serving others with the talents and resources he had been practicing for decades.

He found himself a position with a start-up venture, but after a few months, it was clear that the opportunity would not pan out -- which is to say it wouldn't pay the bills, though it had already served a larger purpose in moving the man and his family to a new place where many blessings awaited them.

One afternoon, his present intersected with his future and formed a most intriguing fork in the road. One prong was a job offer to head the marketing department for a local caterer. It was a nice offer because the man enjoyed the art of good food and knew a little about promotion. The money wasn't much, but he and his family had lived on less.

The other prong was an invitation to apply for another job: as an advertising sales executive for a successful radio station. The man had spent his life on the entertainment side of the microphone, and knew quite a bit about promotion in the industry. But the money was nothing -- quite literally. If he was selected, the commission-based salary would afford the man a small loan for a number of months, until he got his footing. It was a big risk, but it was also a tremendous opportunity, limited only by the man's own effort and ability.

The man -- a brand new believer and follower of Christ -- prayerfully chose to pursue the latter, and spent an afternoon away from his wife and daughter to submit himself to a half-day-long psychological apptitude test.

And he failed.

The scores showed him to be ill-suited for the job. He was too nice. Too nice to succeed at business-to-business sales.

But in the next breath, and before she would giddily turn to her computer to consult the stars about the man, the woman who would be his manager stated that she didn't know why she was doing it, but that she felt compelled to make him an offer anyway. And so she did.

And he said yes.

For many months, the small family scraped by as the man sought to learn a new side of the industry in which he had camped all of his adult life. It was really a very sweet time of comaraderie in which a stronger bond was built through the relative hardship that was endured together.

All the while, the man was ever mindful that he had been deemed unsuitable for success. He marveled that this new career challenged his weakest skill set: math and details. He was tempted to be worried about the future.

But the man persevered. He went to all the training conferences. He listened to his managers. He was teachable. He was honest. He was diligent, and quiet and truly wanted to help his clients succeed in their businesses. He did his very best.

But mostly, he walked in the confidence that he could do all things through Christ who strengthened him. And he took comfort in knowing that the Lord would not suffer His children to go without food or clothing. He learned that the Lord was made strong in the man's weaknesses.

And at the end of his 8th year of toiling and building and walking the Narrow Road in the midst of what was too often Vanity Fair, the man was singled out for honor. And he was humbled. And so thankful.

And his wife was so proud of him, as were his dear daughters -- of which there were now three.

Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.

Proverbs 27:2