The Most Humble Man I Know

He walks up and down the mountain every day, in a suit and tie and briefcase.  Even though he's soaked and dripping in sweat, he is happy.  He is in the rural mountains of Haiti.
Yet his office is smaller than a jail cell. Sunlight pours through the cracks in the walls and there are holes in the rusty tin roof above his head.  There's just enough room for him to squeeze in, sideways, behind his desk, and for someone to sit directly opposite of him. They use his office as a storage closet for the school pots and pans that the rice and beans will be cooked in.  There is no water.  No electricity.  No air conditioning.  
His floor is made of dirt, but when you sit with him, he's as professional as any school principal in America.  
He is a pastor.  He leads the people of the village of Jabouin in prayer.
He is a teacher. The children have so much respect for him that when he speaks to them in a gentle whisper, they come to attention.  He sings with them in the morning as the Haitian flag is raised.  He teaches them to be proud of their country and their heritage. 
He is also a school inspector.  He has great ideas and a deep desire to further the education of his people. 
He wants to open a professional school in these hills, to bring jobs and help the local economy.  He's seen brilliant kids grow up and leave, because there just isn't any work for them here.   


Today at his school, pre-k and kindergarten meets outside under a tarp as the teacher sings to them.  Inside, first, second, third and fourth grade all meet in the same room, divided only by the direction of their chairs and the chalkboard of their teachers.



If we wait long enough in this life, there will certainly be enough distractions that we'll begin to forget what God might be calling us to do.  There will always be some other concern.  There will always be something else that will come and rob us of our time, and eventually, of our worth, our purpose. 


Our value isn't in dollar signs and bank accounts.  Our measure is in our ability to put others ahead of ourselves. What is our motivation? Why are we called to go, Christians? 


Nobody knows what this man does every day, how many steps he's taken in his lifetime for these kids, in the name of Jesus.  


This man could be anywhere in the world.  He's intelligent. He's passionate. His work ethic is through the roof.  But he's also full of something else, something that makes all the difference in the world.  He's the most humble man I know, and yet he is the richest man I know.


It is Love of Christ.