At the outset of this series of articles on “goodness” I asked each of us to consider a very personal question: What accomplishment of goodness would you dare to pursue this next year, if you were assured you would not fail?
What has been your experience so far as you have tried to pursue that accomplishment of goodness? I think that I can guarantee you one thing – that if, in your process of accomplishment, you have not already experienced opposition, hinderance, or obstruction to reaching your goal of goodness – you will! You can count on it.
Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “We know that there are chiselers. At the bottom of every case of criticism and obstruction, we have found some selfish interest, some private ax to grind.”
It seems strange to me that there are folks in this old world who would willfully choose attitudes and behaviors of avarice, selfishness, corruption and evil manipulation in order to see the blocking of some other person’s attainment of their goals for goodness. Selfish interest, however, happens to be one of the most common obstructions to the advancement of truth and goodness. (You don’t have to look much farther than the arena of modern-day politics to observe some pretty cringeworthy examples of intentional hinderance, corruption, and evil manipulation in the obstruction to intended acts and attitudes of goodness.)
One of the strangest examples of obstruction, or counteraction to goodness, that I have ever observed, took place while I was working in the country of India:
I boarded my flight from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, then transferred to another three-hour flight that dropped me off late into the night at the airport in Madras, India. The next morning, I continued my travels to the city of Coimbatore, India where my friend Dr. Samuel Stevens met me and we drove together to his home in Salem, India.
Sammy Stevens was born into a wonderful Indian family, and is a third generation Christian. His accomplishments are outstanding. He has built and managed the Sharon Cancer Center in Salem. Additionally, he and his wife built and operate the Sharon Garden Orphanage where they house, feed, and educate over 300 orphans. Project C.U.R.E. became involved with Dr. Stevens to help him enlarge his 50-bed hospital to a 150-bed facility.
While we were driving, Dr. Stevens told me of his friend, Dr. Siddharthan who runs a successful eye hospital in a nearby city. They have additionally set up a blood bank and an eye-donation bank. Dr. Siddharthan is a very talented eye surgeon and has been very kind to Dr. Stevens. Whenever Dr. Stevens has children in the Salem area who need eye surgery, Dr. Siddharthan comes and performs the procedures for free at Dr. Steven’s hospital.
As we talked, he mentioned that Dr. Siddharthan was going to come to his hospital in Salem this week and perform surgeries on three blind children – two girls and one boy. I would get to meet Dr. Siddharthan then.
As the week progressed, Dr. Stevens informed me that he was having a bit of trouble with one of the three young kids who were scheduled for eye surgery – it was a problem with the mother of the young boy. It didn’t look like she was going to give permission for the doctor to operate on her son!
The mother said the people of the village were very hostile and were demanding that the surgery absolutely not take place. They liked the boy just like he was – blind! They had taken care of him so far and they would take care of him always. He did not need to be able to see. It made them feel good and important to have the boy totally dependent on them and they did not want that feeling taken away from them. It made them feel fulfilled and important and necessary.
The villagers were serious enough about the situation that they threatened the mother and told her that she, and the child, and the entire village would be cursed forever if different eyes or eye parts would be put in the boy’s head by another man.
I thought, “Oh no, these villagers will actually use their selfish interest and pride to obstruct this little boy from ever seeing his mother, his friends, the sunshine, a delicate flower, -- anything – ever, ever. How horrible. How sad!
Dr. Siddharthan had performed the pre-surgery procedures on the little boy the same day that Samuel Stevens had driven to pick me up from the Coimbatore airport. So, Dr. Stevens had never met the little boy or his mother before.
The morning before the scheduled surgery, Dr. Stevens said he wanted to go out and talk to the mother in the village to find out what was going on. When we arrived, the mother saw Dr. Stevens for the very first time. She began to cry and was visibly shaken. She took Dr. Stevens by the hand and said, “Oh, I am so happy you are here – I must tell you what happened to me last night.”
“A man came to see me – it was not just a dream. . . it was in a vision. The man had come to our village and had brought my son back to me – when he came back, my son could see – we saw each other for the very first time! Dr. Stevens it was you who brought my son back to me in my vision. I had never seen you before – but you were exactly the man in the vision who brought my son back to me. I now see you and you are the same man!”
“Yes, I want you to take my son to your hospital so that you can bring him back to me, and he will no longer be blind. I am now strong enough to stand up against all the people in my village and tell them they cannot use my blind son to always be dependent on them -- to make them feel needed and worthwhile. They can now help my son grow up and be a strong man.
Dr. Stevens, if you came to me last night and brought my son back to me – and he could see perfectly well – why would I be afraid to let you take him with you today to the hospital where they will fix him and make him see for always?”
“Please go now, Dr. Stevens – and hurry back with my son!”
Well, as you might guess, that day was a day of happiness and rejoicing. All three surgeries went perfectly well for Dr. Siddharthan and his three little blind patients. Dr. Stevens was later able to take our excited little boy back to his mother and the waiting villagers.
A great miracle had taken place. God had taken an occasion of counteraction and obstruction to righteousness and had transformed it into an occasion for the advancement of truth and goodness!
Next Week: The Results of Goodness are Forever