Take a Risk!

I Coulda’ Been a Contender

by Rev. Dale M. Glading, President

On the Waterfront won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1954 for its realistic depiction of the rampant corruption and union violence of the commercial docks in Hoboken, New Jersey. The film starred Marlon Brando as Terry Malloy, a dockworker and former prizefighter, and featured an all-star cast that also included Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, and Eva Marie Saint. Brando won an Oscar for Best Actor and Saint was named Best Supporting Actress. Elia Kazan also took home an Oscar for Best Director.

Perhaps the most famous line in the entire movie is spoken by Brando as Malloy. Years earlier, his older brother Charlie had convinced him to throw a fight in order to placate a union boss who had bet on Malloy to lose. Now, full of regret and wondering how things might have turned out differently had he won, Malloy tells Charlie, “I coulda' had class. I coulda' been a contender. I could've been somebody...instead of a bum, which is what I am let's face it.”

Those words echoed in my ears during a recent lunch meeting I had with a local businessman. A committed Christian, he invited me to lunch to discuss Risk Takers for Christ and to encourage me during our recent financial struggles that have delayed our payroll by as much as 30 days.

Because he grew up in Memphis, where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, we started out by discussing the Civil Rights movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s. We have both visited the National Civil Rights Museum there and have also read several books by or about Dr. King. We also spoke about my efforts to foster racial harmony throughout our community and the numerous racial reconciliation conferences I have helped organize.

From there, we went on to discuss other subjects including the connection between fatherless homes and criminal behavior. Naturally, that led to me talking rather passionately about our Living H2O Initiative.

“You know something?” the gentleman said. “You could have been the CEO of some large company.” He meant his words as a compliment, meaning that he felt my organizational and communication skills would have attracted attention and commanded a hefty salary in the corporate world.

“Maybe so,” I replied. “I was named Most Likely to Succeed in high school and planned to go to law school at one time. But then God got hold of me and changed the direction of my life.” My response to his kind words wasn’t meant to sound egotistical or remorseful. I was simply letting him know why I didn’t parlay my God-given talents into a legal career or some other well paying job.

Having recently celebrated my 60th birthday, I must admit that it is tempting to look back and wonder “what might have been” had I chosen a different path. In the world’s eyes, “I coulda’ been a contender” instead of a prison minister. However, God has blessed me over the past 33 years with the privilege of impacting an estimated 500,000 inmates in three countries on two continents… and I wouldn’t change that for a minute.

Sure, those three decades of ministry have come with a price. My salary is not large, and the manufactured house Deanna and I share still has a mortgage. On top of that, ministry pressures have turned my hair gray while my knees ache from the thousands of softball and basketball games I have played behind bars. But those sacrifices pale in comparison to what awaits me in Glory someday. Not only will I (undeservedly) get to see Jesus face to face, but I also hope to see the faces of the tens of thousands of inmates who have trusted Him as Savior through the various ministries I have been involved in. At that point, it won’t matter how big my paycheck was or whether my earthly house was mortgage-free. Because of Christ, my heavenly mansion is already paid-in-full.

So, my friend, don’t judge yourself or allow others to judge your life according to this world’s standards. Accolades are nice, and there is nothing wrong with wealth as long as it is acquired ethically and used properly. But honors and possessions will all pass away, where- as souls are eternal and what is done for God lasts forever. As the Apostle Paul wrote in I Timothy 6:7, “For we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take any- thing out of the world.” Job echoed those same sentiments in Job 1:21 as did the Sons of Korah in Psalm 84:10, which reads, “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.”

Lawyer, prison minister, or doorkeeper… it really doesn’t matter. Seek God and His will for your life, period. Only then will you be a true contender.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

Ben Matlock, For the Defense

Author

“I know the prosecutor in this case, and she is a very tough cookie.” - Andy Griffith as Ben Matlock

For a period of several months, Deanna and I relaxed in the evenings by watching old episodes of Matlock. We recorded them, so by fast-forwarding through the commercials, a single episode only took about 40 minutes. If it was late or we were really tired, we would only watch one episode and then turn in for the night. However, if it was early and we weren’t sleepy, we would often watch two.

On the show, Andy Griffith plays the role of Ben Matlock, an Atlanta-based attorney who is one of the top defense lawyers in the country. His $100,000 fee is prohibitively high (remember,the series ran from 1986-1995); but he rarely loses a case.

In addition to being expensive, Ben is high- strung, blustery, scheming, and given to courtroom histrionics. He is also very cheap,which may be one of the reasons why he loves to eat hot dogs. But the bottom line is this: if your life is on the line, Ben Matlock is who you want representing you.

Nobody argues a case better than Ben!

In the same way, there is no better defense attorney in heaven’s courtroom than Jesus Christ. Unlike the above scenario, there is nothing blustery, scheming or cheap about Jesus. In fact, He is always under control and when He speaks, waves stop rolling and winds cease to blow. And there is absolutely nothing cheap about Jesus either. On the contrary, He purchased salvation with His own blood and offers it freely for the taking.

Sitting at the prosecutor’s table is someone with thou- sands of years of experience. He digs up dirt on the defendant and then hurls torrents of accusations at them, one after another. Worst of all, he has the evidence to back up his hateful claims.

The courtroom shakes with his boisterous allegations and the verdict is never in doubt. Surely a jury of the defendant’s peers would find him guilty as charged...and sentence him harshly, too. All hope is seemingly lost.