Lincoln and Gandhi. Churchill and Mormon. Jefferson and Washington. Remarkable men, men whom I admire. All achieved great things. None did it the same way. And in life, it would be rare if not impossible to be completely dedicated to more than one approach to greatness -- you must decide which way is best. Not everyone is called to approach greatness only one particular way but all are called to approach greatness. I do not know which way I will go, but I do know, out of two approaches I've considered, which one I consider to be the greater. I don't necessarily believe that this approach is the "road less traveled", but it is certainly the road with less epic poems, the road less envied, the road of little earthly glory.
The two images of a hero that I wish to compare are, first, the hero who thrills the world by achieving exactly what he is passionate about, using his own hard work (and God-given strength if this is a God-given mission) and sheer determination. Incredible men with incredible results. The second is the hero who does what he knows he must regardless of how little it helps him to achieve what he wants, or even how much it actually hurts the chance of him ever achieving what he desires. The first makes for an inspiring story for me all the way until I hear an example of the second, at which time the glory of the first fades to give the honor due to the second. The central difference between the two lies in their form of sacrifice: one gives up what he wants now to achieve what he wants more, the other gives up what he wants completely to achieve that which will do him little to no good yet will do great good for others.
An inversion of this idea sheds light on another important difference between these two kinds of greatness, rather than looking at what they work for, we can look at what they mourn or suffer for. There are two classical examples that illustrate this principle -- one from the Odyssey and the other from the Aeneid. Both Odysseus and Aeneas mourn when they hear or see their own tragedies presented to them (a story for Odysseus, a mural for Aeneas). Odysseus weeps over all the troubles that have befallen him and all the ones that yet stand between him and home. Aeneas weeps for his city, for his family and for the heroes that died at Troy. Aeneas weeps for others. This small instances reveals a lot about the difference between the two heroes.
The other aspect of this twist is what a great hero suffers for. In this case it is Odysseus who actually offers both sides. Odysseus' biggest weakness is his recklessness. It is his rash decision to gloat about blinding the Cyclops that makes him an enemy of Poseidon (word to the wise, don't gloat to the gods). But Odysseus is also stuck with the messes that his men lead him into, the raping of Cassandra making them the enemies of Athena, the loosing of the winds that prevents them from getting home and eating the cows that gets the whole crew except Odysseus killed. The real greatness and honor of a hero comes in enduring well the punishment he did not deserve.
There is something powerful and inspiring in the passionate man achieving the ends he so greatly desires, but the greater man is the one who gives up his desires to fulfill the needs of others. Aeneas and Odysseus were the men I was initially thinking of when I thought of the two types of greatness I admire, but the moment I began writing it became obvious how well the real Hero of the world fit into this discussion. The scripture "not my will but thine be done," expresses true greatness perfectly. There can be no "greater" example of greatness than the Hero who was willing to put aside His own desires to do the will of God. The Man who achieved something that was completely unnecessary for Him but of vital importance to everyone else -- the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment