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One
day in 1956, songwriter Johnny Mercer received a letter from Sadie
Vimmerstedt, a widowed grandmother who worked behind a cosmetics counter
in Youngstown, Ohio. Vimmerstedt suggested Mercer write a song called
"I Want to Be Around to Pick Up the Pieces When Somebody Breaks Your
Heart." Five years later, Mercer got in touch to say he'd written the
song and that Tony Bennett would record it. Today, if you look at the
label on any recording of "I Wanna Be Around," you'll notice that the
credits for words and music are shared by Johnny Mercer and Sadie
Vimmerstedt.
The royalties were split 50-50, too, thanks to which Vimmerstedt and her heirs have earned more than $100,000. In my opinion,
And some would have kept all the profits...for after all "a man must live."
Geggenhiem,
on the Titanic, gave his life jacket to a woman passenger and then put
on white tie and tails so he could die "like a gentleman."
And some put the life jacket on their own bodies and died like a...
But a man must live...
In
1912, Capt, Lawrence Oates became so frostbitten and lame on Robert
Scott's ill-fated expedition to the South Pole that his slowness would
have meant the death of everyone.
So
he went to the opening of the tent one night and said, "I am just going
outside and may be some time." He thereupon walked to his death in a
blizzard.
But a man must live...
-Even
simple good sportsmanship can rise to the level of aclass act, as it
did with tennis player Mats Wilander in the semifinals of the 1982
French Open.
At
match point, a shot by Wilander's opponent was ruled out. Wilander
walked over to the umpire and said, "I can't win like this. The ball was
good." The point was played over, and Wilander won fair and square.
But a man must live...must he...and how and why and when...
IN
THE DAYS of the early church, many Christians carved and gilded images
for the pagans. They didn't worship the idols themselves; they thought
the practice foolish and sinful, but whenever they were questioned about
their occupation, they shrugged their shoulders and blandly replied,
"Well, after all a man must live."
The
Roman Empire required everyone to put a pinch of incense on the altar
and vow holy allegiance to Caesar. Many Christians put down their
incense while excusing themselves with the words, "I don't really
worship Caesar, but a man's got to live."
I
imagine there were some Christians who were ushers in the coliseum
stands; while some of their fellow-Christians died in the arena, and if they did, I'm sure they excused their conduct with the words, "Well, a man must live."
Living is a challenge and not an easy one. It is searching out your best and settling for nothing less. It's more than promises, they're a dime a dozen and overpriced.
It's
deeds. It s what you stand for. What you vote against. Where you lead
and who you follow. It's accepting the debt you owe to God and man every
time you take a breath.
Jesus said, "Which
of you desiring to build a lower, doth not first sit down and count the
cost?" (Luke 14:25-30.) For many people the cost of their faith is too much. They laugh at dirty jokes they don't like; they keep quiet about all kind of things because, better to be safe than sorry, and then they care- fully explain, "After all, a man must live."
Can a man live and be dead inside?
If Christ had sneaked a way from Jerusalem under cover of darkness would it have made a difference?
If John
Hancockhad not signed the Declaration of Independence with such a
flourish and instead had said, "I've been feeling poorly, been awfully
busy," and then under his breath had murmured, "A man must live, you
know," would it have made a difference?
Think
of all those who have risked their lives and livelihood because they
knew what was right and what was wrong...and yes...they had to
live...WITH THEMSELVES
Is the man who calmly but firmly tells his boss, "No, it's against my ethics," a fool?
Must a man live
even at the cost of honor? Must he give a little, bend a little . . . .
? It is possible to be so obsessed with saving our hides at the cost of
our honor that we end up having neither our hides or our honor. (paraphrase of comments by Vance Havner)
Life must be more than bare existence. It must be more than feeding your face. It must be believing in something to the point of acting like it. Ask the Puritans who struggled and died through New England winters because what they believed meant that much to them..and they would cry back...
They would shout back, "Yes, live for something or you become the nothing you so persistently support."
Adlai Stevenson was a statesman rather than a politician and I still remember a word he coined over half a century ago. A word that if it applies to you should send a shiver up your soul.
"Yo"
He said it could mean "Yes" or "No."
And...indeed...it is the perfect word for some folk. This way they can agree with everyone.
They can affirm and negate all at the same time.
For getting along..it's fail safe.
If someone believes in the"man must live at any cost" philosophy then what better medium of conversational exchange than "Yo!"
+++++++++++++++++
POSTED ON WYRICK'S WRITING THOUGHTS ENTITLED "What Do You Want From Jesus?"
Are you seeking from Jesus to be well adjusted? I
sometimes like to use well adjusted rather than the “blessed” referred
to in the Beatitudes for if you are well adjusted, you are indeed
blessed. “Well-adjusted are those who hunger and thirst after
righteousness. Well-adjusted are those who are peacemakers. Well-adjusted are the merciful. Well adjusted are… (Matthew 5:3-10)
Is that what you want from Jesus? The ability to be well-adjusted in your relationships with your fellowman? To be well-adjusted in mind, body and spirit? To be well-adjusted toward good and away from evil? To
be well-adjusted enough “to have a sense of humor, the grace to see a
joke, to get some happiness from life and pass it on to other folk.”
(anonymous)
click on the following
TO TAKE YOU TO THE WYRICK'S WRITING'S SITE
Yes, God loves you the way you are but he loves you too much to let you stay that way.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Click
on the URL below to WATCH NEIL IN HIS WORLD FAMOUS ONE MAN
DRAMATIZATIONS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN, BEN FRANKLIN, CHARLES WESLEY AND
MARTIN LUTHER
To Order and Read Neil's 9th book THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN
GO TO amazon.com
QUOTES ABOUT THIS WONDERFUL INSPIRING INFORMATIVE book
STILL RECEIVING RAVE REVIEWS 8 YEARS AFTER IT'S PUBLICATION.
"Positive,
powerful utterances...skillfully enhancing our understanding and
appreciation of Lincoln while revealing the Divine source of his
strength."
Lt. Colonel C.A. Olsen (Ret.) Asbury College (Professor Ret.)
"The Spiritual Abraham Lincoln is an
extremely well written book that investigates what might be termed the
spiritual side of President Lincoln. It's both scholarly and very
readable. I came away impressed at Mr. Wyrick's portrayal of the
President and with an altered and enlarged vision of the man:'
William Hoffman, Award winning fiction writer; author of Blood and Guile, and Wild Thorn
"Wyrick
has authored a wonderful examination of the spirituality of one of
American history's most devoutly religious leaders...a pleasant and
readable book that has a rich depth of information."
Maynard Pittendreigh Presbyterian minister
"When
it comes to invoking religion in support of any of their decisions,
politicians need to sit at the feet of Abraham Lincoln. Reinhold Niebuhr
once called him 'America's greatest theologian.' Why so great? Because
he invariably distinguished between human works and the works of the
Almighty. As Wyrick
says, 'He wore the mantle of humility easily: because he was more
impressed with what God was doing in the world than with what he,
president of the United States in the midst of an awful crisis, was
doing. That is why in his last major speech he distinguished between
both human causes in the Civil War and the Almighty's 'own purposes.'
Lincoln would have agreed that it is better to leave God-talk out of
politics than to decorate human proposals with divinity. This is a book
for our American time. Through his careful study of Lincoln's career,
Wyrick compels us to remember that piety belongs in politics only when piety transcends politics."
Dr. Donald W. Shriver
Emeritus professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York. Author of An Ethic for Enemies: Forgiveness in Politics
"v. Neil
Wyrick's fine work allows the reader to appreciate Abraham Lincoln's
Christian commitment and his prophetic role in American history. Should
have a wide readership."
James H. Smylie Professor of Church History (Ret.) Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Virginia
"Neil Wyrick's The Spiritual Abraham Lincoln should be read
by anyone attempting to understand the man who was probably the most
complex person to ever hold the office of president of the United
States. Dr. Wyrick is intent on demonstrating that the spirituality so
often expressed in Lincoln's writings and speeches was not merely lip
service to a Deity, but rather expressions of a profound faith in a real
God. It was this faith that provided the wisdom, compassion, insight
and sometimes steel that Lincoln would need in full measure
as he led the United States through the Civil War. Dr. Wyrick's clear
and unpretentious style of presentation is very much in keeping with the
character ofhis subject, and in so doing, Wyrick makes his point very
well that Lincoln, his beliefs, and the faith that formed them, are as
relevant to a troubled America in 2004 as they were in 1863."
Daniel Allen Butler, author of "Unsinkable"; The Full Story of the RMS Titanic, The Lusitania and The Age o f Cunard
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