Have you ever taken a step back, looked at what’s going on in the world today, and thought, “Maybe we’re overcomplicating things?” I bring this up because over the past couple of weeks, I’ve received links to some videos that highlight lessons our kids can teach us.
For example, during Hurricane Harvey, 13 year-old Virgil Smith put his life at risk when he went out at 2am and used his air mattress to rescue 17 people who couldn’t swim and were trapped in their apartments as the flood waters threatened.
Turns out Virgil is a shy individual. He didn’t brag about what he had done; he just went about his business. And that is why his football teammates and others from his hometown of Dickinson, Texas, decided to greet him with a standing ovation when he showed up to football practice. He then learned that the producers from the movie “Wander” awarded him a scholarship! Tommetria Womack, a counselor at Hitchcock Middle School, reminded the audience that: “It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, you can do great things!”
In Utica New York, Merrick Bush is a state champion wrestler. One of his fiercest competitors was Logan Patterson. When they clashed at the state meet, it was a great match. Logan had the upper hand, but with 30 seconds left, he sprained his elbow.
Instead of taking advantage of his opponent’s misfortune, Merrick told his coach he knew what to do. When the match resumed, Merrick just sat there and didn’t move, in essence conceding the match to Logan. As Terry Kavanaugh, the referee, noted, “I’ve been in sports a long time, and I’ve never seen anything like it.” When the crowd realized what was happening, they gave Merrick a standing ovation. His dad summed it up the best: “It’s not always about winning, it’s about doing the right thing.”
And then I received a final video that really brought things together for me. This weekend you might have heard someone say "Be Like #50". The title of the video is "Be Like #50," and it’s a salute to a player with the number 50 on a youth basketball team who displayed true sportsmanship when he helped one of the smallest players on his team score a basket. If you want to see what sheer, unbridled joy looks like, watch how the young player celebrates after scoring his first basket.
After watching these videos, some thoughts came to mind. First, they didn’t overthink the situation. These kids acted!
Second, they didn’t draw attention to themselves. They simply served others. Early in my career, I went to several motivational seminars by Zig Ziglar. His message was pretty clear: You will do well in life when you help others do well.
Third, people notice when they see others “helping others do well.” The people helping others may not always get a standing ovation, but they win the admiration of people that will last a long time. So it is not too surprising that Virgil’s sister regards him as a hero, or that Rodney, one of Virgil’s friends is “proud of him,” or that another friend affirms him with the words “I love you.”
Logan—Merrick’s wrestling opponent—talks about Merrick doing something “out of the goodness of his heart” and calls him a great person. In closing the story, reporter Steve Hartman noted, “Merrick thought that doing the right thing might make him look like a weakling, but he did it anyway.”
There is a famous verse from the Gospel of Matthew that reminds us about the importance of having “to change and become like little children.” After watching these videos about Virgil, Merrick, and Player #50, those powerful words make more sense than ever.
