As we view our mortality, Rory King on Expanding the Meaning of Success.

        By Rory King

        Ours is a competitive and fast-moving society. Our standards of “success” center upon the

Rory and Susan King

accumulation of wealth, or power, or professional achievement, or prestige, or fame, or athletic prowess. Those who have achieved success by those standards have certainly worked hard and deserve credit for their achievements.

        But let me introduce another concept of success, one that the culture does not, but should, value as highly. 

        It is the standard of success invoked by Pope John XXIII, when speaking of his beloved uncle, Zaverio, who had just died:  “He was the just man of Sacred Scripture. Simple, honest, God fearing, humble of birth and occupied with the humble labors of the fields, he had a lively and profound sense of Christ. … In a century full of agitation, he never lost his youthful, fervent and loving devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. When he died he left no wealth or land, but to his family and parish the shining and unforgettable example of a pure, hardworking life.” 

        It is the standard of success I tried to get across to our oldest daughter, who, at the time, was teaching in a school in our hometown. She is a very bright young lady, and I’m sure could have gone into fields which are financially more rewarding. She drove an old car, without air conditioning, had a small, three-room apartment, and was  always on the lookout for sales on clothing. I know she struggled to stay within her budget. 

In a weak moment, when she wondered about the relatively obscure and financially unrewarding profession she had chosen, I reminded her of some dialog from a play that is a favorite of both my daughter and me,  “A Man for All Seasons,” by Robert Bolt. St. Thomas More, who paid with his life for refusing to deny the Church’s teaching on marriage and divorce, is counseling a young protégé about his future occupation:

More:  Why not be a teacher?  You’d be a fine teacher.  Perhaps even a great one.

Richard Rich:  And if I was, who would know it?

More:  You, your pupils, your friends, God.  Not a bad public, that….Oh, and a quiet life!”

        Without the “success” of millions of good, ordinary, hard-working people-- the “just men,” the “humble laborers of the fields,” the “fine teachers,” the parents sacrificing for their children — people who receive no notoriety or recognition beyond the small circle of their families and communities — our society would disintegrate into moral anarchy. May I suggest that we may want to expand our concept of success? 

Rory King is an Aberdeen attorney and  a 1966 graduate of Central High School.