An article written by my father, the Rev. C. Thomas Paige, as it appeared in the Tri-State Defender. This particular article did not have an exact date on it. From its contents, it was written in the month and year shown.
“And unto one He gave five talents; to another two, and to another one, to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.” — Luke 25:15
Only in a matter of a few hours, many of us will be celebrating New Year’s Day. Many of us approach this day with mixed emotions. The past years have left many people with tear-stained faces, broken hearts, broken dreams and many misapprehensions. We are rather reluctant to start a new year. Our abilities to endure much of the same is just about exhausted. Not only did this happen to us as individuals but we also see the same things happening to our friends and acquaintances. The world about us is filled with tensions and we find ourselves going around in circles.
This is not something that has just happened. Men throughout history have been plagued with similar ordeals. But history also reveals that men have been able to rise above these things and go on and make their contribution to society. There is one thing that all of us must constantly remember: this is not something just happening to us but to all men in all walks of life.
1960 is not something to be dreaded with fears and misapprehensions but a challenge to all of us. Of all the people I know, I don’t know of any who are completely happy. There are areas in all our lives that we would like to see improved. Each way we look we see places where improvements can be made. Improvements are visible everywhere.
1960 can be envisioned as far back as Biblical times when this man called his servants in and gave them talents. In other words, he made them custodians (care takers). A long time ago, each of us was made a custodian. We were given certain talents and asked to go out and enrich the earth. As 1960 comes on the scene we must look at this as another opportunity on the part of God to give us a chance to use our talents. No, this is not a time to dread; rather, it is a time to re-evaluate life in terms of goals and objectives. The current world conditions are traceable to us through our participation or indifference. To a large extent, we as individuals are responsible for all that has happened and is happening.
It has been stated that there is some good in the worst of us. Taking this to its fullest definition, we could easily say that the worst of us are capable of doing some good. It was because of this that the man called his servants and gave them talents, according to their ability to do good. As we approach 1960, we must conclude that, because God sees that spark of good in all of us, it is critical that it be used to make the world better. 1960 is a challenge for all of us.
That the world is in bad shape is an undeniable fact. In all areas of human behavior there is room for improvement. I know that there are those of us who are always willing to place the blame on someone else, but the blame lies directly with us. The world is never going to be better than those who make it up. I mean to say that the world will never be better than those of us who are here will make it. The world is going to be no better than we are as individuals. It, therefore, behooves all of us to use our God-entrusted talents for the betterment of the world.
In its truest sense, 1960 must be accepted by all of us as a challenge. With all of its uncertainties, 1960 offers all of us a chance to make a contribution to a better world. For some of us, this will be our last chance. To that extent, our ideas of brotherhood, love, wisdom, and fellowship must all be re-worked to the extent that we will seek to realize some of these things. Each one of us MUST see the will of God manifested in our lives as never before.
The story of the talents did not end with the mere giving of talents — it went on to a day of accountability. One of these days, each person who enters 1960 will stand accountable for the days, weeks, or months he consumed in that year of great opportunity. We must — here and now — accept the challenge of this year and do all that we can to make it worthwhile.
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VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 