Liba Hopeson
BTC, Pfutsero
In this topsy-turvy world, where all seems to be trapped in the rat-race, we are obliged to do many things, albeit our talents and potentialities differ. Seemingly, the world is changing rapidly, and indubitably, our life become much easier and luxurious.
Notwithstanding, utter chaos and confusions multiplies, which in turn produces numerous problems triggering miseries and sufferings in life. Many years ago, a servant of God, Daniel, predicted that people would run to and fro and knowledge would increase (Daniel 12:4). Precisely, it has happened as we vividly see. Knowledge of people has increased to a great extent that it is like they could do almost everything they aspire to do. Today, many people, at a blistering pace, aspire to become the most successful persons in the world. Nonetheless, achieving success alone will not suffice in order to have joy, peace and happiness in one’s life and in the society. Many opine that, getting success in an examination or in a particular field is the end task of our life. But it is simply the beginning of success. A famous scientist and genius, Albert Einstein intimated, “Do not try to become a man of success, but a man [woman] of value”. Perhaps, by reading this thought provoking statement, many may instantly refute his notion to be wrong. In fact, he was a reliable and prosperous man who never reckoned that success was not needed. But, he, with a deep thought understood that by trying to become a man of value, we definitely get success as well. Thus, aiming to become a man of value is immensely worthwhile as success goes together with it.
A man who was profoundly impressed by Albert Einstein’s quote penned down his thoughts this way: I want success. I dreamt of it daily. I affirm it to myself every morning and every night, and frequently throughout my day. I advise others to go after their own ideals for success. What is success? Typically, we conjure images of expensive cars and luxurious vacations; often, they are images that we have accepted as success. We apply them to our lives and modify them to our tastes so that the expensive car is no longer the Ferrari, but now it is a 40 foot custom RV. In any case, we still believe that “success” means “things”. I like things. I like things a lot. I’m 33 years old and I still write a long Christmas list, even if nobody reads it. The things however are meaningless. I know this. I am who I am with or without them. They are symbolic of my persona, and persona is not my essence, it is a morphing thing, it is only a mask, a buffer to the rest to the world. My essence is the truth. My essence is what, when considering success, conjures images of love and playfulness, of reverie. Try to become a man of value, and it won’t matter to you if you have success or not. Like this man who wanted success at first, we generally dream of it.
The word “success” is a term which is constantly bandied by the people all over the world. The concern on how to achieve success becomes the talk of the people. Our minds are brimmed with this and hectic activities surround us for accomplishing it. But we hardly hear people talking about the need and importance of ‘aspiring to become a person of value’. To achieve success, many activities like writing, organizing seminars, training, talking, interacting, advertising, etc., abound in our society. Undeniably, we could spend lots of time, energy and enormous wealth for the sake of achieving success. Indeed many parents let their children learn in every possible way and let them join some good professions like Pilot, MBA, etc., ungrudging to afford them, which cost is astronomical 20-30 lacs or more. As a result of all these daring efforts, many could in fact achieve success in different corners of the world. Today, millions of people are doing lucrative job getting lucrative pays. But let us pause for a moment and ask this question – why do problems mount considerably when the number of people who achieve success increase rapidly? Is it caused by the depth of our knowledge? Is the rich knowledge we gain dangerous?
Is it because of the wrong teachings of our institutes? Or is it because we do not understand clearly the meaning of success? Apparently, the world is stricken with numerous problems like, global economic crisis, global warming, price hike, fratricidal killings, unemployment, abject poverty, sexual abuse, murder, robbing, terrorist attacks and many more which disrupts our normal life. Yes, though I don’t jot down all the problems of the world in detail, it is crystal clear that problem increases as we go on living. So, what is the main reason behind? What should we do to solve or lessen all these mess which disrupts and affects our lives? What should we do to alleviate the pains and sufferings of many people and ameliorate this diabolical situation? Yes, we’ve have many successful persons, but less men and women of value. Yes, today, there are many with rich knowledge, but without wisdom, and hence we face problems. Consequently problems soar and disturb our normal life. Today, we need more people of value. At times, we hear elderly people say, that person is well-educated, rich in knowledge, but not wise and sociable, so people do not count him/her. I am sure you have heard it. Success without value is not valued.
Today, it is imperative for us to aspire to become a person of value. I don’t mean that achieving success is futile, but it should not be a ‘poison’ but a ‘healing pill’. After we become successful, if we do not have a considerate and altruistic attitude or love for others, there is possibility of easily falling into temptation and we can be shoved by the evil to the somber and filthy path, and gradually lure us to become arrogant, self-centered, envious, aggressive, avaricious, and egoistic. Then malevolent attitudes will crop up in our minds which will directly and indirectly instigate violence, strife and fight. We all know that bad works could be done more by knowledgeable people who have amazing knowledge but lack wisdom. When our minds are occupied with self-centeredness and pride, there is little or no chance of contributing something good to the society.
One very interesting thing in our life is having pride through someone’s achievements. There are times we have conversation with different villagers or people, discussing about the feats and achievements of the village. When this kind of conversation begins, we’ve a tendency to compare one another. Though we have nothing to utter anything good about ourselves, we could brag of our village, saying, that dynamic and reliable man/woman is from our place. You may not be able to abstain in talking about or mentioning some of the outstanding personalities of your village who are of great help to your society. In truth, they, with painstaking effort, diligence and perseverance have accomplished their goals and become men and women of value in the society. And we feel proud through their incredible achievements and say many good things about them. People may extol and honor you by hearing all your ingratiating utterances though you are nothing. But, gross exaggeration causes us to slip and stumble.
Therefore, we have to be very careful so that we may not be abased. In spite of having pride with ourselves by thinking or saying our people good deeds we should aspire to become a man of value and contribute something good to the society. Albert Einstein says, “The value of a man should be seen in what he gives not what he is able to receive”. Who is a man or a woman of value? What is the importance and benefit of being a person of value? What should we do to become a person of value? What is the reason behind that we continue to talk about Mother Teresa though she had died long ago? The simple reason is that she was a woman of value. She did many commendable jobs. Her selfless and pre-eminent services to the downtrodden and destitute are still indelibly imprinted in our minds and hearts. Jesus Christ, who is our Lord and Savior is a man of value. He healed many sick people, performed many miracles, brought the dead back to life and many more.
Most significantly, He laid the foundation that no one could lay, for it is the foundation which gives joy, peace and life. His immeasurable love toward us is expressible. It is important to ask ourselves whether our deeds are valuable or not. Alfred Adier says, “The only worthwhile achievements of man are those which are socially useful” As we underscore the need of becoming a person of value, it is worth thinking and knowing how to do or go about. Becoming a person of value means that first, you are of value to you own existence, and second, you are of value to the existence of others. To be a person of value does not mean that everyone should financially and materially assist someone or society. We can be a person of value by doing different things. But, to become a man or a woman of value, we must first change ourselves. Without valuing oneself, one cannot be a person of value.
So aspiring to become a person of value is extremely valuable because it makes us to change our lives. When we aspire to become a person of value, a new thought dawns in our mind to change our bad habits, ways and deeds. Moreover, it makes us to work hard which is one of the most important things in life. We cannot be a person of value by staying idle.
Further, in our venture of becoming a person of value, we should not let pride and ego rule us. When we do something good, the intention to attain fame, popularity and acclamation should not drive us and dominate us. We should do everything for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:39). Self-evaluation should be our constant guide. It will give us considerable changes. And a person who aspires to become a person of value should be patient, perseverant and diligent. In this 21st century, where billions of people live with copious uncertainties and insecurities, we need more people of value. “If everyone ardently aspires to become a person of value and do at least something substantial, our society is bound to undergo a radical change and have a better atmosphere”.
