“What is In a Title?”

          Presenter: Dick Stetler – October 2021

 

    My grandfather gave to me many valuable tidbits of his wisdom which I have remembered and cherished through the years.  One afternoon, I was walking with him into the Commonwealth National Bank in Harrisburg, Pa. He said:

Do you see that door over there?  A number of years ago, my name was on that door where I had an office as the Chair of this Bank’s Board. When I walked into this bank, I knew the names of all the employees and was greeted warmly by everyone who saw me with ‘Good morning, Dr. Stetler.’ Today, I do not recognize a single person.  I have no idea who occupies my former office. 

What I want you to remember is that all such titles come and go.  They do not define you.  If you develop your identity based on your titles, you may find it depressing when you must leave beyond what you were.  Always remember that one day you will be a has been, but God will always be able to use your spirit without any of the titles that others formerly gave to you.  There is only one title that is recognized when you die, ‘Welcome home my son.’

    Everything he taught me was coming from what he had learned from all his life-experiences.  One day our son and I visited him.  He indicated months ago that he would enjoy taking both of us fishing.  When that day arrived, we drove to Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.  Upon our arrival, we learned that he had forgotten about his invitation. He said, “The sun is really too hot to go fishing.” Nothing more was said.  We had lunch with him and drove home. 

    However, the day was not lost.  He had boxes of items that he was going to set out for his weekly big trash day.  I went through some of the contents and found lots of what I would consider memorabilia outlining his life, e.g., Roseville pottery and my grandmother’s diaries were among the trash.  He said,

Take anything you want, but remember what I have tried to instill in you.  As you age, pack lighter, get rid of stuff so that no one has to do it later when you are gone.

    When we got home, I went through the boxes.  I could never have imagined all the leadership roles that he had kept to himself.  There was a picture of him and astronaut John Glenn, citations galore filled with gracious words for his being a Trustee of Albright College, The Board Chair of the Polyclinic Hospital in Harrisburg, the Kiwanis Club, the State Y.M.C.A., and the Harrisburg Chamber of Commerce to name only a few.  He had been a servant-among-others but he lived what he taught me that day in the bank.  To my knowledge he never saw the need to disclose his past roles in the process of serving others

    He served others where he could and did not mind being a has-been now that he was retired.  He loved fishing, his family, and the stock exchanges.  He was the one who taught me to begin saving for retirement by buying stocks with my first paycheck.  He was a buy-and-hold investor, not a trader.

    The tidbits that fashion our lives are not the titles we have accumulated, but what we have learned from our life-experiences. Still, many people can hardly wait to wear some symbol of importance.  Collars are worn by a few theology students as soon as they become a candidate for training to be a pastor.  Medical students frequently wear a stethoscope around their necks as soon as it’s appropriate to do so even when there are no patients to visit.  Lawyers frequently put Esq. (Esquire) after their names.  When people are not careful, they will enjoy the role that they advertise more than their level of competence.

    There is a story of Jesus where he was being honest in answering questions about what he was teaching that were asked by the Chief Priest.  A Temple guard did not like his response and slapped Jesus across his face as though Jesus’ honesty had a tone of disrespect.  (John 18:22) Jesus wore no uniform that announced his identity.  He wore the clothing of a peasant so he was treated like one by someone who considered himself among the elite.

    The nameless Temple guard will be remembered because of what he did to a man who changed the world by ushering in the knowledge of another way to live. That knowledge has changed the lives of millions of people ever since.  Titles never define the person.  Attitude, people-skills, and embodying loving energy define the quality of spirit being expressed by those who have learned how to do that from a master teacher.

     

    A man who served with me on a Board once said to me, “I spent a lot of money to become an ophthalmologist and now I am referred to as a provider.” Obviously, he enjoyed being referred to as a doctor.

     Joseph Campbell dropped out of his Ph.D. program because he did not need it even though he had completed all of the course work. Henry David Thoreau never received his diploma from Harvard because he felt that the five-dollar fee for the document was too expensive.  George Eliot once warned the world. “Never to judge a book by it cover.” She really meant that because George’s real name was Mary Ann Evans.

    To our thinking, Jesus was far superior in expressing authentic, loving energy in his attitudes to any of the Pharisees.  However, to be fair to them, they were superior at being obedient to the Laws of Moses. A major issue for them was that their pride for doing so was readily recognized by the citizenry. Everything about them from their clothing to their remarkable lifestyle told their story.   The world recognizes Jesus by many titles that have been assigned to him.  The only Pharisees recognized today are those named in the Gospels.

    It is interesting that this peasant-carpenter has had more books written about him than any other personality, while never writing anything himself.  Yet he is remembered by what he taught.  More than his countless timeless lessons, he is remembered by how he lived.  As many say today, “He walked the talk.”

    How many sermons do we remember from our over stimulated, distracted minds?  Will anyone remember anything about our individual lives?  Being remembered by history is a ridiculous motivation to live what we know.  There are over seven billion people who are all on different levels of spiritual awareness. None of it matters. 

    We sow our seeds of attitude and words blindly, never knowing if any of them found their way to fertile soil in which to sprout.  Like my grandfather, he sowed bountifully.  No doubt he played a role that influenced the lives of countless people that he never knew were watching.  That was never his focus.  He merely wanted to live one-day-at-a-time, being happy just to share his inner treasure with everyone he met.