These words sometimes haunt me: "Who knows that you haven't attained royalty for such a time as this?" These were words spoken many years ago to one who had power to do something but was reluctant to use it; spoken by one who knew that this person had power and was not using it. However, these words prompted this person to do something about it.
This morning, I wondered about that line. Who knows that you and I haven't attained royalty—or the positions of power and influence that we have—for such a time as this. Are we doing what we ought to be doing or are we just using up air on this planet? Do we justify our space on this planet and can we even justify the hopes that others who invested in us have had have had in times past? All of these are good questions for us to ask. They are not easy questions because they may make us a little uncomfortable as we begin to look more critically at ourselves and say, "Can I justify my reason for existence? Am I fulfilling my raison d'être?"
Shri Siva Subramania Iyer may be a name that you have never heard. He was a teacher of math and physics and one day he was teaching fifth graders how birds fly. He drew a diagram of a bird on the blackboard, showing its wings, tail and body structure. Then he explained how the birds lift and fly. This went on for nearly 25 minutes. At the end of the lecture, he asked the class whether they had understood, and a ten-year old boy put up his hand and said that he hadn't. The teacher was not intimidated. He asked the rest of the students whether they had understood and quite a few students said they too hadn't.
Here's what the teacher said. He said, "Come with me this evening and we'll go to the seashore." That evening, he met all the students at the beach. Then he showed them sea birds in formations of tens and twenties. He began to talk about the birds. He pointed out the way their wings flapped and how they moved in combination and how their tails twisted. He pulled out different aspects of flight from this visual lesson—things like lift and aero dynamics, and at the end of it, everybody had understood.
What a wonderful teacher! And what a wonderful example of being at the right place at the right time and fulfilling your mission! For the one student who said he hadn't understood, was none other than Dr. Abdul Kalam, a 10-year-old fifth grader in Rameswaram. From that early experience, he went on to become a rocket engineer, aerospace engineer, technologist, the missile man (as he was known) and then, President of India – one who did his country proud.
Yet, it started in many ways, with many people along his path who were able to input into him and say, "The reason that I am here is to be able to be who I am supposed to be at a particular point in time." Who knows that you and I haven't attained royalty, or the positions that we have, for such a time as this? Do we understand the time and why we have been placed in the positions that we're in? Are we looking through eyes of destiny, to be able to say, "This is why I am here," and I am fulfilling my reason for being here?
A couple of months back, I referenced what was going on with Maggi noodles in India, and remember making the statement: "Time will tell whether they handle this well, whether they have really looked at this crisis and made the most of it." I remember referencing Bill George, former CEO, Medtronics, who had said, "There are 7 lessons that you can learn through a crisis. One of the seven is that you've got to be aggressive in the market place. Crisis offers the best opportunity to change the game in your favor. But you've got to be aggressive about it."
I'm just pivoting off of this teacher in Rameswaram who did what he was supposed to do, at a particular time and looking at Nestlé's response to their Maggi noodle crisis and wondering: did the people in charge understand their role, their reason for being in those places of decision-making and whether they responded appropriately. Time will tell, or maybe has already spoken, because last Friday, Mr. Suresh Narayanan flew in from the Philippines as Nestlé's new Managing Director. His words seemed to be words that many Maggi supporters have been waiting to hear, "I'm here. I'm going to take charge and we're going to do something about the hit that Nestlé has taken in recent times in India." And then even more—words of encouragement and authority: "We can overcome. We are going to rebuild the company's brand brick-by-brick, consumer-by-consumer, and employee-by-employee." It seemed like finally, somebody was saying, "We're going to do something. We are not going to let this drift." That's what people who grasp the moment, who understand their role and reason for being where they are, when they are, do. They act—they seize the situation, seize the day and act decisively.
I wonder about you reading this article. Are you doing what you need to be doing in "such a time as this?" Sometimes we can get into trying situations and allow life to just drift, going through the motions with just a business-as-usual attitude. And an opportunity to make a difference to a situation, in the life of a colleague, a spouse, a family member or a child, slips by, and we've lost the moment. But those are days when we really need to stop and say, "Am I doing what I ought to be doing? Am I really making a difference, or am I just a population statistic?"
One of the most beautiful characteristics that I loved about Dr. Kalam was that, when he referenced himself, he always did so in context to other people. He talked about himself to be able to talk about how somebody had touched his life. Right from this teacher, Shri Siva Subramania Iyer who taught him in fifth grade, to the time when he walked around in high places, he was always able to pick out the people who impacted his world.
As we look around our world, the places that we operate in, what a dearth there is of good role models, of men and women whose lives are worth emulating. And maybe the time is right for you to step in and ask: "Am I in this place to give this person flight, to coach another, to let another find their niche in life, so that one day when their story is told, they too will reference me and say, 'I had this person touch my life at a particular point that made me realize that I was meant for something.'" And what a fulfilling day that will be.
Who knows that you and I haven't attained our positions of power and influence for such a time as this? And what a time it is! Today we read the newspaper and hear about a terror attack in Punjab – 7 dead, 10 wounded, and peace disrupted. What is your role? What is mine? We cannot put our heads in the sand and say, "This too shall pass." We need to be able to look at the world and our environment and ask the question: "Why am I here? What can I do to contribute towards society and the world at large and justify the reason for my existence?
Dr. Abdul Kalam, in a speech that he gave to the European Parliament, said, "Where there is righteousness in the heart, there is beauty in the character. Where there is beauty in the character, there is harmony in the home. Where there is harmony in the home, there is order in the nation. Where there is order in the nation, there is peace in the world." That elusive quality starts with our own hearts and our character and our homes and our nation. As the Scriptures say: "Who knows that you and I haven't attained royalty—in the places we are in, and the things that we do—for such a time as this?"
May I offer this prayer?
Almighty God, show us why you have placed us here. Show us the things that we ought to be doing, the people that we ought to be, and help us, Master, to make a difference in the world that we live in. We ask this in Jesus' precious name. Amen.
Endnotes:
• "And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?" Esther 4:14 NASB http://biblehub.com/nasb/esther/4-14.htm
• Preetika Rana, "Nestlé's New India Head: 'We Can Overcome' http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2015/07/27/nestles-new-india-head-we-can-overcome/tab/print/?mg=blogs-wsj&url=http%253A%252F%252Fblogs.wsj.com%252Findiarealtime%252F2015%252F07%252F27%252Fnestles-new-india-head-we-can-overcome%252Ftab%252Fprint
• Dr. Abdul Kalam's speech in European Union,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frD8f5VP27o
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