This morning, I awoke from a dream where I was speaking passionately before a room full of influential leaders, “We will discover, develop and deploy ten thousand young professionals and global change agents to secure, stabilize and sustain one million orphans and refugees at the initial cost of one hundred million dollars, any questions?”

(notice the money but see the people)

During his second annual address, Abraham Lincoln called his nation to attention, “It is not ‘Can any of us imagine better?’ but ‘Can we all do better?’ Object whatsoever is possible, still the question recurs, ‘Can we do better?’ The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.”

Seven centuries earlier, Bernard of Clairvaux reflected, “He who has put his hand to a great undertaking feels the need for strong nourishment; those who spend their lives working in clay and brick shall make do with the straw of Egypt: we who must travel far have need of stronger nourishment.”

From Isaiah 33:

^13-14“If you’re far away,
get the reports on what I’ve done,
And if you’re in the neighborhood,
pay attention to my record.
The sinners in Zion are rightly terrified;
the godless are at their wit’s end:
‘Who among us can survive this firestorm?
Who of us can get out of this purge with our lives?’”

^15-16The answer’s simple:
Live right,
speak the truth,
despise exploitation,
refuse bribes,
reject violence,
avoid evil amusements.
This is how you raise your standard of living!
A safe and stable way to live.
A nourishing, satisfying way to live.