February 1963

we cannot do. We have all these get sick and people still die. People wise sayings about doing the things still have to have enough rest or they that are possible in a few minutes, end up as nervous o r physical but we think the things that seem wrecks. People still have to eat, sleep impossible will simply take a little and exercise, or something happens longer, and we have all sorts of to them. People still have to do some creative work if they are to be happy. What Does “Walk Humbly” Mean? catch phrases such as the one about making the impossible possible by doing it. With all of the scientific These are the limitations under which we all work, and we walk by Rev. Thomas Simpson accomplishments that have come humbly with God when we recogalong in my lifetime, it seems to me nize these limitations we have and we tend to take it for granted that live with them graciously, praying E x c e r p t s from a s e r m o n by t h e the impossible will one day be always to God, the Father, to give R e c t o r of Trinity Episcopal C h u r c h , Newark, O h i o achieved, if we simply budget us the kind of life that will fit us for -a good friend of A A enough money to take care of it. eternity, rather than the kind of life That is all very fine. Things that that will fit us for nothing more than were thought impossible just a few the torments of regret which we well HE other day 1 was talking with The essence of wisdom, I think, is to years ago are now entirely possible, might label as Hell. All of us could T a friend of mine who is running for public office, and we got to talkrecognize what you are able to do, but of equal importance to realize like going from New York to London in five hours. But people still profit from the experience of Alcoholics Anonymous. ing about his prospects for winning the things you can’t do. In the little an election. I asked him if he had prayer used by Alcoholics Anonyconfidence that he would win, and mous they pray for the wisdom to he said, “It does not pay to get know the difference between the overconfident in this game. The man things you cannot change and the who becomes overconfident is likely things you can change. This is the to fall flat on his face when the time very essence of the real wisdom in comes for election.” Well, this is the life, the ability to distinguish bekind of tight-rope walking all of us tween those thing in life which are are concerned with, when we try to capable of being changed and the get away from the old proverb that things that are not. These alcoholics “Pride goeth before a fall.” Just recognize that they are alcoholics what is this pride that the writers of and that they cannot change this. the proverbs said was fatal? And They recognize that they cannot just what do we mean by walking drink, and so, working together in humbly with your God? It is not al- love and understanding, and in full ways easy to distinguish between the reliance upon God as they undertwo in the normal course of events. stand Him, they stay away from that When a man has come to recog- first drink. nize God as God, then he also comes We Americans generally do not to recognize his own limitations. like to think that there are things