The Pulpit Speaks: November 23, 1957

An article written by my father, the Rev. C. Thomas Paige, as it appeared in the Tri-State Defender on the date shown.

Over and above everything else. the prodigal son was a dreamer. In spite of the fact that his dreams were misdirected, nevertheless, he was a dreamer.

He dreamed that he could build a world on money, good times, and new friends. But one of the most wholesome things about the boy was that he dreamed.

The world is deeply indebted to the dreamers of every age. Sometimes these well-meaning men and women have not done too much for the cause of humanity but on other occasions, they have been the originators of means whereby men have been able to understand and benefit by their dreams. Here and there we find men of unwholesome dreams, but the number which had wholesome dreams greatly outnumbered those who got off on the wrong foot.

History reveals to us many dreamers who have made notable contributions to the cause of human advancement. To these men and women the world is greatly indebted. They and they alone are basically responsible for the world being in its present state. One of the most unfortunate states of human activity today is wrapped up in the fact that there are far too many people who do not dream.

When I hear a young man or woman talking about finishing school and going out in the world to teach, or preach, or become a world leader, I hold high hopes for this world of ours. I fully realize, however, that it is going to take more than dreams to bring about the realizations, but at least the dreams are a step in the right direction. For the young mind never to think in terms of making a great contribution to his day and time is really tragic.

For a person never to rise above the common crowd and make a real contribution to his day is rather tragic. Dreams have stood as stimuli to men in all walks of like to soar above those things that would ordinarily hold them back. I like to see people who are born in the midst of all of the handicaps of like thing of one day when greatness will be achieved. Yet, through constant dreaming and application to those thing that we hold dearest to us, one day we will wake up to learn that we have achieved.

One of the most tragic things of our day is wrapped up in the fact that many people feel that, because of certain circumstance, things are insurmountable. Nothing has been further from the truth. Paupers have risen to men of great moral and spiritual strength, men and women born of ignorant and indifferent parents have risen to become intellectual giants, people who have been physically handicapped have been trailblazers for those who are physically fit – all because they dared to dream. The dream of the prodigal son was highly unwholesome but the experiences brought about by the pursuit of those dreams did much to make him a wiser man. It was through the series of events that followed his pursuit of his dreams that he was rudely awakened to himself, and as he approached his father’s home he cried out, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and Thee and am no longer worthy to be called Thy son.”

Whatever our dreams might lead us to do, in the final analysis, we come out a far wiser individual. The world needs people today who have gone through the experiences of dreams, whether wholesome or unwholesome, to bring out the best in them and to place them in a position to render a worthwhile contribution to their day and time.