I guess everyone wants a promotion, a better job, more recognition, more, more. If we start in the stock room, it's only temporary because one of these days we're going to be a clerk, then department manager, sales manager and then store manager. Why not? It takes commitment to get contentment. If you use that, give me some credit.

When you arrive, you celebrate by taking a day off, buying yourself a gift or just basking in all that praise you deserve. You set aside all that humility and humbleness — sure you do — and party in private.

No you don't! That's for underachievers. You want the thrill of competition, the fight for the win, the knowledge that you have beaten the odds and come out on top of the heap. "Now I'm the boss! I may be on the edge of heart attack city, but it's worth it!"

Caution! The problem is that we never know what the cost might be until we finally get what we are after. When we arrive at that magical mystical point in time, it's either, "I'd do it again" or "What in the world have I done?"

There was a book I read called, "The Peter Principle," which talks about someone being promoted to a level of incompetence. He may have been a great salesperson, but is a terrible manager, a fine player, but an inept coach. I have spoken to quite a few folks who admitted they wished they were back in their old job. A vice president said to me, "John, heavy hangs the head that wears the crown." Boy, was he right!

There is a wonderful story in the tenth chapter of Mark about a blind man by the name of Bartimaeus. He cries out to Jesus, "Help me!"

Jesus asks this poor wretched man, "What do you want from me?"

What! Isn't it obvious that the man is blind and wants sight?

Hang on there. Maybe Bartimaeus was very satisfied being blind. After all, he was blind from birth, used to it and even comfortable being blind. Perhaps he wanted Jesus to clarify a fine point of the law, become wealthy or find something that had been lost.

Perhaps the question Jesus posed to Bartimaeus was more like, "What do you want, really want?"

Let's use our imaginations. Here is a man who used every sense he had to survive in his world. He might know where he was by sounds or smells. He would know the city by the cries of vendors hawking their wares or smell certain fruits or perfumes. He would know friends or enemies by their voices or the sound of their footsteps. 

He could touch the walls of the city and feel the cobblestones as he walked and the way the land sloped were all in his memory. He was quite capable in his surroundings.

Now, along comes Jesus and gives him his sight. What is Bartimaeus to do? To survive in his new world, he must learn colors and landmarks. He must learn to recognize hundreds of faces and expressions. All of the thousands of visual clues we handle without thinking must be overwhelming and he would be confused and even unable to function. Did Bartimaeus receive a blessing or a curse?

I have always believed that when Jesus is asked a question, it's not simply from some ancient biblical figure, it's from us, too. And when Jesus answers, He's also answering us as well.

"Jesus, help me!"

"What do you want? All you have to do is ask and it is yours, so ask away."

And I reply, "Give me the wisdom of Solomon, the patience of Job, the strength of Samson, the leadership of David, the courage of Joshua, the long life of Methuselah, the faith of Stephen, the vision of Paul, the insight of Cornelius! That's all I want. Oh, and You might as well throw in the wealth of Solomon!"

And....then what?

Here is the most important lesson for all of us. "And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus."

When Bartimaeus received his sight, he did not the slightest idea what to do with it. He must have heard about sunsets, waving fields of grain, flickering shadows made by a glowing fire, but those were only words. Now that he had what he always wanted, he needed someone to tell him not only what he was seeing, but what else could be seen, interpreted and enjoyed. He needed someone to teach him how to use what he now possessed.

What good is wisdom, strength or wealth if we don't know how to use it? What good is any gift if we have no concept of its worth or its value ... or its evil when misused?

I began with contentment. Perhaps it is the knowledge of a job well done, a life lived to the fullest, knowing why we have been placed on this earth, and it might be that there is one more opportunity to set things right.

And maybe, just maybe, it is knowing who I am and accepting the fact that God loves me in spite of any shortcomings, misgivings, failures and oversights, and best of all that today is really the first day of my life and I can change the world by one kind word, one good deed, one gentle touch and one selfless act.

Thanks, God!