Human Myths: The Self-Made Man
Why, hello Mr. Scrooge Mcduck (source: Wikipedia)
Our society and generation is very much attracted to mythologies. It is a way of humans to express ideas of the world around us. It also presents varying world views. An example of this is the Myth of the Self-Made Man who was introduced by a man named Frederick Douglass (a key person in American History) and this construct is very much rooted in our myth of the “American Dream” which quite frankly, is a dream that is finding its way to all corners of the world. So, the American dream might be one of those ideologies that we can use to prove economic contagion (but that’s beside the point. :P ) They are often characterized as men who grew up in financially challenged households and had to work their way up the social, economic and educational ladders to achieve a certain status in society. They are characterized by their ambition, their drive to succeed, their motivation and their hunger for money or power. Most people attribute the rise of self-made men to the rise of industries and the introduction of more complex economic systems.
However, the Bible also talks about such a man in Luke 12:13-21. This man was a man of bountiful financial wealth, and he worked really hard that his production possibilities curve was very beneficial indeed. However, as his financial wealth increased, all his interest was concentrated on making more and storing all that he had. He had an idea to build several storage facilities and said to himself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” In other words, early retirement (and a lot would say well deserved, but it is not the point of the parable). God tells him, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?” This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich towards God.”
There is no such thing as a self-made man, God wills us to receive blessings. However, the folly that self-made men often do is that we attribute our own successes to our own achievements, our own hard work, our own intellect. We fail to acknowledge God’s giving to us of the talents, the will and the favor as we move towards life. When we fail to set our hearts on Christ as our sole Provider, we also forget to be thankful for the people around us who has helped us. They may be our parents, our siblings, teachers, friends, classmates, and other relationships we have. We become a self-contained man who becomes driven to have more for self; Our attitude morphs from a producer standpoint to a self-sufficient consumer standpoint. Our isolationist means do not make us at all, because treasures on earth are temporary, it can rust and disintegrate, it can be stolen, its value can easily be lost by economic changes and the reality is that life is very insecure; we can never really tell what happens next or when life will end (Matthew 6:19-21).
The morale of the story? Prepare for more than this life. Live in view of eternity. Don’t settle for just early retirement, you were made for so much more! :) God made you for so much more than just yourself and your own achievements. It is not wrong to work hard and be prepared financially (actually that’s biblical to be good stewards and be wise about it for both men and women) but our life’s purpose should never be just about getting a luxury vehicle, a huge house, private school education for our children and so on and so forth. It is a life’s purpose that is too small and temporary to live for. God put us in this life is to honor Him, love Him above everything else and then love our neighbors. :)
From human myths of self-made men, let’s allow Christ to transform us from the inside us and live for our true purpose, as God-made men and women IN and FOR God.
