Be Like Ivan

Ivan Fernandez looked at the runner ahead of him in stupefied disbelief.  Abel Mutai, the man in the lead, the man whom Ivan had spent some considerable time trying to catch up to and hoping to pass, was slowing down.  Abel, in fact, was nearly stopped.  But the finish line was a short distance on.  Ivan, once he’d collected himself, could see quite clearly what had happened.

It was noisy.  There were signs and banners everywhere.  People were shouting and gesturing.  All the runners were fatigued.  Abel believed he’d won the race and that it was over, mistaking some indicator or the other for the finish line.  But he was wrong.  And now the race win was easily within Ivan’s grasp.

What to do?  Ivan didn’t hesitate for an instant.  The photos show him touching Abel’s back from behind and pointing him toward the finish line.  They didn’t speak a common language but it didn’t take Abel long to comprehend the message.  He finished, then Ivan did.

The conversation that took place with a journalist afterwards is instructive.  It went something like this.

“Why did you do that?,” Ivan was asked.  “Why did you let him win?”  “I didn’t let him win,” was Ivan’s reply.  He was going to win.  The race was his.  My dream is that someday we can have a kind of community life where we push and help each other to win.”

The thick-headed journalist pressed on.  “But you could have won!”

Ivan looked at him and said this:  “But what would be the merit of my victory?  What would be the honor in that medal?  What would my mother think of that?”

Indeed.  Where would be the merit?  Where the honor?  And what would Mother think?

These sentiments seem to be largely and inexplicably missing in our age.  So often we see what appears to be blatant disregard for others and a focus on self.  But it needn’t be that way.  It shouldn‘t be that way.  I may be preaching to the choir but it doesn’t hurt to be reminded every now and then of our interconnectedness as inhabitants of this planet, of our need for one another, and how we all benefit from having kindness extended to us and by extending it to others.

The Golden Rule has always applied, will always apply.  Jesus said, “. . . in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you . . .” (Matthew 7:12).  Ivan apparently learned this truth at his mother’s knee.  It took.  Did it take with you?  With me?

Today’s a new today.  And then tomorrow will come.  We’re given multiple opportunities every single day to put this principle into practice.  We hope that others take into account our needs, our desires, our fears, our circumstances, our beliefs as they interact with us.  But we can’t control others.  We can, however, control our own responses and reactions to others.  And God expects us to.  So would our mothers.

Be like Ivan!