A lively dinner party

At one time or another, we have all wondered what it would be like to meet famous people from history. However, why not take this thought one step further?

Suppose a person could host a dinner party and choose four people from history as the only guests. Who would they choose?

I had some spare time this week, and my mind drifted to this topic. My choices surprised me a little bit, so here is who I would invite and why.

My first invitation would be to Jesus Christ. Whether or not a person is a Christian, there can be no disputing His impact on history. His teachings have shaped the personal conduct of billions of people for the last 2,000 years and will hopefully continue to do so.

Even atheists have been touched by Him though I am sure many of them would not admit it. Especially as the Easter season approaches, it would be wonderful to spend an evening with Him and just have a conversation.

My next invitation would be to President Abraham Lincoln. When reviewing our nation's history, it would be difficult to find a more important person. Lincoln steered the country through its worst moments.

Given the freedom we currently enjoy, it is difficult to fully appreciate the challenges Lincoln faced during his presidency. Obviously, our country is going through a lot of strife right now, but it is not in the same universe when compared to the Civil War.

Lincoln literally gave his life so that our country could be preserved. He had to watch as America tore itself apart so it could be rebuilt again.

Without a leader of his caliber, our country might be much different today. If he had failed, the United States likely would have splintered into several countries, and we would look like Europe today.

For that alone, we should be grateful. Who would want to be Europe?

The next person I would invite is former baseball player Bill Buckner. Sports can be cruel especially if somebody gets labeled a goat for a mistake that costs his team a big game.

This happened to Buckner in the 1986 World Series when he played first base for the Boston Red Sox. During game six, he let a ground ball roll between his legs that allowed the winning run to score. If he had made the play, Boston would have won the Series. Because of his misplay, a seventh game was played that Boston also lost, and the New York Mets became world champion.

Even though Boston finally won a World Series in 2004 and 2007, Buckner still gets unfairly treated.

After all, one play does not win or lose games. A mistake in the first inning of a game can be as costly as one in the last inning. Also, people conveniently forget that Boston had a three-run lead in game seven of that series, but let it slip away. And Buckner had nothing to do with that.

Because of this mistreatment, I think I would like to be Buckner's friend.

The fourth person I would invite is Adolf Hitler. I know this is sounds controversial, but hear me out. Obviously, Hitler was an evil man. There is nothing about him that is to be admired. He dedicated his life to unleashing unspeakable horrors on mankind, and he was despicable.

However, to truly understand good, I think a person has to try to understand evil. What would it be like to look into his eyes? Imagine what Jesus would say to him. I don't know what He would say, but I know it would be memorable and perfect.

It would definitely be a lively conversation.

Evil is a mighty foe but don't choose it

The forces of good and evil swirl around us every day. If a person doubts that, all he has to do is read the newspaper or surf the Internet.

Horrible stories are easy to find, and some events make us shake our heads and wonder why God allows it.

We often see this in the way leaders treat the people of their countries. We take for granted the freedom we have and that is too bad.

In a more general sense, when we look back through history, it is often easier to remember people who dedicated themselves to tearing people down instead of those who contributed positively to our culture.

For example, here is a list of eight people and the time period they lived. Let us see how many names are recognizable: Albrecht Durer (1471-1528), Johann Bullinger (1504-1575), Reginald Heber (1783-1826), Peter Parker (1804-1888), Karl Marx (1818-1883), Fanny Crosby (1820-1915), George Williams (1821-1905), and Adolf Hitler (1889-1945).

If we are honest, the first name that is easily recognizable is the last name on the list. Hitler was the leader of Germany in the first half of the 20th century. He was the catalyst for World War II and was responsible for the Holocaust among other things.

The second most recognizable person is likely Marx. No, he was not Groucho, Harpo, and Chico's brother. He was the founder of Marxism and the spread of communism over the last 150 years or so is a direct result of his philosophy. Since the heart of communism is based on atheism and the repression of people, Marx's impact on society is approximately the same as Hitler's.

What about the rest of the people on the list? Even though most of those people are largely unknown, they each contributed in a much more positive way to society than the previous two men.

The following synopsis of these people comes courtesy of the David C. Cooke Ministries. For example, Crosby was a blind woman who wrote the lyrics to approximately six thousand hymns. Her most well-known hymn is 'Blessed Assurance.'

Heber was a missionary to India and wrote the hymn 'Holy, Holy, Holy' among others. Williams was founder of the YMCA. Parker was a missionary to China. Bullinger wrote the most widely used confession of faith to come out of the Protestant Reformation. Durer was an artist and left a legacy of religious artwork.

So, what can we say about the legacy left by all the people mentioned here? When we read history books, it is pretty easy to find information about Hitler and Marx. They are certainly the most famous people listed here.

However, the other six people left much more lasting legacies than their famous counterparts. If we were to pick up a generic history book, these people would likely not be found. Sure, if we did some digging, we could find information on them, but there would be vastly more information on Hitler and Marx.

The big question we must ask ourselves is: What type of legacy do we want to leave? Mankind's vainglorious nature tends to crave fame by any means necessary. After all, people compromise their integrity every day on reality television programs. For the love of a lousy buck, people will do almost everything.

The bottom line is the biggest legacy we can all leave is to simply wake up each morning and just do the right thing. It may not be glamorous. It may not be sexy. It may not land a person on the cover of People magazine.

However, it will impact other people in ways that yield lasting, positive results.

(Dumb) Quote of the Day

"Ya know, Hitler was a great leader, too." -- spoken by Lou Holtz, ESPN college football analyst.

Apparently, Coach Holtz was trying to make a point last Friday about leadership not being enough as it relates to the current state of the Michigan football program. Holtz has since apologized, but for future reference, Hitler isn't a good example to use when making a point unless it is about evil, the Holocaust, or genocide.