“The best things in life make you sweaty.”
― Edgar Allan Poe
Poe is on point. When done right, dancing, a mosh pit, spicy food, and shenanigans between the sheets must include some sweat. The same with work. Physical labor requires elbow grease, which leads to a feeling of completedness, a good day’s work. The same with intellectual sweat, when a solid strategy is implemented and well executed, or a client pitch is nailed, the cerebral horsepower required is a form of mental sweat.
In the three-part Netflix documentary Inside Bill’s Brain, Decoding Bill Gates, we see one of the wealthiest men on the planet, making his second act a legacy achievement that may stand the test of time. I’ve been unable to think of another titan of industry who has taken his or her formidable fortune, and steered it towards tackling the most serious problems on the planet. Not only his own wealth, but other billionaires, as he recruits them to join The Giving Pledge. Imagine if you had the brain capacity plus an almost infinite treasure chest at your disposal. Add in unmatched tenacity, and diseases like polio can be eradicated. Issues such as sanitation and clean water become problems to be attacked instead of throwing one’s hands up in hopelessness.
From the outside, it sounds easy to hop off the “Dominate-Technology-Make-Billions” train, and sit back on the beach with a piña colada. But anyone with a smidgen of ambition — and an understanding of the human condition — knows it’s our nature to say, “More, more, MORE!” Plus, to have the unbridled boldness and intellectual ability to build an empire like Microsoft? It’s the same as asking Mick Jagger why he continues jumping around onstage after 50 years of touring. Engines like that are built to motor until they die. But Gates has made the shift. Maybe due to the influence of his wife, Melinda, he’s decided to use his superpowers for good. Wow, is it fun to watch how he and his wife are leveraging their resources with other brilliant minds to impact millions of people.
One option when watching the documentary is to check-out and say, “Hell, I’ll never have his options, no need to even try to make a difference.” But that’d be easy, and a form of cowardice. Yes, the definition of cowardice is “a lack of courage or firmness of purpose.” Each of us have a purpose, and it’s likely not as an Instagram influencer or contestant on America’s Got Talent. Do you think about purpose? In your 20s, the question seems easier because the runway appears long. But damned if that clock doesn’t tick-tock fast. We end up grasping at The Flash, “Did something just fly past me!?” Yes, that would be your life.
Before I get all Bible-ish on you, let’s look at the practical benefits of seeking purpose. For one, it will include work. Work is a good thing, not to be avoided or dreaded. Yes, it’s often arduous, but same as exercise, it’s designed to build muscle in the form of responsibility, character and humility. Purpose should also include impact on others. Yes, in the form of being courteous, respectful, and empathetic. I’ll make the argument without scripture, that a life of purpose must also include some level of service to your fellow human beyond kind gestures of decency. Purpose should include sacrifice, right? If not, purpose distorts into myopic ambition of self.
At the same time, I recognize that when life kicks, and when circumstances appear unchanged, we feel hopelessness, and question whether there’s any significance to each day. In other words, purpose becomes tertiary to survival. Thankfully we have a God who understands battle fatigue. After all, He questioned His purpose, and sweated blood when thinking of the outcome, Luke 22:44 “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” This is where I LOVE me some scripture and nerding out on apologetics. Remember what I said last week about the Gospel of Luke, a physician.
Only Luke referred to Jesus’ sweat (idros) — a much used term in medical language.
And only Luke referred to Jesus’ sweat as consisting of great drops of blood (thromboi haimatos) — a medical condition alluded to by both Aristotle and Theophrastus. The Greek term thromboi (from which we get thrombus and thrombin) refers to clots of blood.
We can conclude quite justifiably that the terminology used by the gospel writer to refer to the severe mental distress experienced by Jesus was intended to be taken literally, i.e., that the sweat of Jesus became bloody. A thorough search of the medical literature demonstrates that such a condition, while admittedly rare, does occur in humans. Commonly referred to as hematidrosis or hemohidrosis, this condition results in the excretion of blood or blood pigment in the sweat. Under conditions of great emotional stress, tiny capillaries in the sweat glands can rupture, thus mixing blood with perspiration.
— Apologetics Press
Gates’ sweat will impact millions of lives for generations, Christ’s blood has concussed billions of of hearts over centuries. Finding your purpose will include sweat, and if the stakes are high enough, to steal a great movie title, there will be blood in the process. What if your sacrifice results in a singular objective that changes one, ten or a hundred lives? I’m not being syrupy, we can generate purposeful desire in a snap, with tangible outcomes. My friend Chris Bailey works a job, raises a family, cheers for the Rangers, and impacts thousands of homeless friends every year by organizing toy, sock and sleeping bag drives. Doesn’t need billions, only a realization that a life of purpose requires a choice to sweat for others.
See ya next time. ML