Doing Good Can Smell Pretty Rotten

While doing good, I lowered my guard and was punched in the gut by a mighty dose of humility.

Money

Tuition was due for many Michigan college students, and I had promised scholarship candidates that determination letters would go out by the end of the week. Yet, there were still several of the students’ contacts I wanted to speak with.

Well-written ministry, academic, and personal recommendations go a long way in helping the Bixby Foundation's advisors gain insight into students’ qualifications. And speaking with the advocates is even more enlightening. My calling them would help our founders decide on how many awards we would be making this year.

Hoping to enjoy the gorgeous—sunny, and eighty degrees—weather, I went outside, sat by my pool, and made the calls. Afterward, I phoned one of our advisors to tell him what I had learned. In the middle of our conversation, a flurry of animal activity disrupted us and caused me to nearly drop the phone.

Mayhem

Two squirrels chased one another and scampered down nearby trees.

The pair bickered, squawked, and scurried to within inches of my feet and startled me. I jumped up to flee just as one of the critters fell into the pool. He was swimming frantically for a way out. I wasn’t sure he would find one, so I put my phone down and quickly grabbed a skimmer net and pole, scooped up the poor little guy, and gave him a lift to safety.

He didn’t stick around to thank me. But I was aware that, with my quick thinking, I had saved that squirrel from drowning. I was feeling pretty good about my lightning-fast reaction.

Mishap

After finishing my conversation with Pastor Steve, I went back into the house. Normally, the kitchen is quiet, except for soft humming of the air-conditioning. But that soft noise was now replaced by loud spattering and popping sounds.

My heart raced again: I had forgotten about the dozen eggs I had set to boil. Water had completely evaporated. Smoke was rising. Hard, crusting, burnt brown pieces of eggs were being cemented to the bottom of my nearly new nonstick pot. Explosions were sending egg-shell shrapnel into the air around me as I rushed to move the catastrophe off the burner.

In minutes, I had gone from feeling, dare I say, a little prideful of my life-saving actions to being embarrassed by my very human shortcomings. I now had an ugly mess to clean, which I could thankfully do before my husband would be home from work. But there really was no hiding what had happened from Greg. The stench of burnt eggs just lingers in the air for hours. It’s as revolting as a lack of humility.

Mercy

As philanthropists, we part with money and devote little pockets of our time to worthy causes. Doing good is intended to benefit others, but it also helps us feel good about ourselves. I appreciate being reminded that nothing we do compares to the actual blood, sweat, and tearful sacrifice Christ offered for us.

His life-saving grace and mercy for mankind far exceed the tiny role we have in encouraging relationships with Him.