"Act justly, love mercifully and walk humbly with your God."
~ Micah 6:8
The old man awoke to soft sheets
as the morning light trickled through dense blinds. Shedding the remains of a soulful dream, he
soaked in the warmth of his covers before letting his face kiss the sun's
rays.
He’d almost forgotten that he was in the Mandarin Oriental
Hotel, one of the most luxurious in all of Shanghai. His spacious room was more like a guest suite
in an Italian palace. The bed was
king-sized with pure white, Egyptian cotton sheets. He had his own desk, a sixty-six inch SmartTV,
a sprawling Corinthian leather sofa, and, on the other side of the
floor-to-ceiling windows was his own private terrace overlooking the Huangpu
River.
And the bathroom! In
addition to the waterfall shower, there was a tub big enough for a football
team, and a Jacuzzi. Handcrafted Italian
marble throughout; a far cry from the hollow cube of windowless concrete that
had been his home for 27 years. The old
man shuddered to think how much it might cost a night.
He rose and immediately knelt near his bed for daily
prayer. His was a crowded, hectic life
now. Opportunities for time alone, much
less for prayer, were limited. Yet
despite scheduled priorities, prayer for him lay at the root of all others - at
the root of life itself.
Without prayer, he’d begin to take credit for the good
things in his life, chalking them up to his own skill, knowledge, wisdom and
hard work. He’d soon forget that all those
attributes were gifts from God who gave us the mind, body and conditions that
enabled us to develop those qualities.
Then he made the bed; making perfect hospital corners. He folded the beautiful duvet cover in thirds
at the foot of the bed just like he’d found it the previous night. He finished by carefully arranging a variety
of pillows and shams to give it the luxury hotel look.
He always made his own bed – no matter where he traveled.
When the hotel manager learned of this, he was
embarrassed. Chinese hospitality requires
that the person who cleans and arranges your room - does exactly that. Doing it for yourself is thought to be an
insult. “Please don’t do this again,” he pleaded.
The old man asked the manager to bring the ladies who would
be cleaning the room, so that he could explain why he himself made his own bed
so that they would not feel insulted. He
never wanted to hurt anyone’s feelings.
For politicians, humility and power are a rare combination. Nelson Mandela never really cared about
what powerful people thought of him, but he did care about what less important
people did. A breathtaking combination
of charisma and old-fashioned courtesy, he was small, subtle … and oh so humble.
“Honesty, sincerity, simplicity, humility, pure
generosity, absence of vanity, readiness to serve others - qualities which are
within easy reach of every soul - are the foundation of one's spiritual life.” Amen ~ Nelson Mandela
