Blessed is the man
that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of
sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law
of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be
like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in
his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall
prosper.
Psalm 1:1-3, King James Version
This writer
is not attempting to self serve. I want to share one of the great moments of my
life. In my lifetime-- before plastics, zippers, and electronics, before such
words as Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, apps-- when, particularly during The Great
Depression, most of the population of our nation was just intent on survival. I
learned many years ago that most people's whose hands have been mauled on the
upward climb on the ladder of survival, just want to block it out of their
minds. We should never forget the pit from which we were dug. (Isaiah 51:1) It
has never embarrassed me to tell anyone that I was born and raised, surviving, through
divine mercies, on a dirt road, without electric power lines, phone lines, and
water lines. My ancestors had gone to one-room schools. The school I attended,
across the street from the school where governor Charles B Aycock and both my
grandfathers attended, had 12 grades. There were 13 in my graduating class, but
I was blessed to attend the University at Chapel Hill,
blessed to have the energy, stamina, and intelligence to be able to work my way
through school.
I sincerely
believe that giving is a part of my DNA, and so it should be with every person
who claims the name of Christ. God gave the world and everything in it, the
spark of life to mankind, whom He created. He gave His only son to redeem us from
our sins, and His son gave His life. I truly believe that saving is a matter of
character, that maturity is learning to delay pleasure. Called tight, stingy,
frugal, I have saved 50 cents of every dollar I have made. The greatest
pleasure of my life has been giving to God's work, and to those active in God's
work. There have been many receivers of my philanthropy. One being Mt. Olive University, Mt. Olive, NC.
This college is the "pearl" of a very small Baptist denomination. I
am not a member of that denomination, but my parents, grandparents,
great-grandparents back many generations, were members, and I have given large
sums of money to that college and denomination (two $3,000 pastor of the year
awards, two $2,000 Sunday school teacher awards, $3,000 and $4,000 awards for
students, faculty and staff awards, scholarships at MOU) I gave $100,000 for a
student loan fund, and $100,000 for a heritage room to honor founders of the
denomination. The university decided to hang a portrait in my honor. I had
asked that it not be done, but it was done anyway. These are the remarks I made
at the ceremony, before a large group gathered for a lecture:
"You
honor me with your presence here today. Every day of my life, at 4 o'clock in
the morning, I have a communion service, and a time of prayer-- just me and
God. This morning I asked God to be particularly good to me today, that I would
say the right thing today. He said that if I get wound up, you will be here all
day. The last time I was here was to give the graduation address. Dr. Byrd,
Jeff and many of you, will remember this, I was so very sick.
Years ago,
a pastor came to my office, inviting me to speak at their church's homecoming.
He wanted to know what I charged for a speaking engagement. It was the Pikeville Baptist Church.
I said, 'Oh, Brother Sasser, you have this all wrong. I will pay your folks to
listen to me!'
I want you
folks to ask God to forgive Brother Jeff Daughtry for the wonderful
introduction he made, all the nice things he said about me, and then I want you
to ask God to forgive me for enjoying the introduction so much. I can
truthfully say, with Thomas A Kempis, who in the 15th century, wrote the book Imitation of Christ, 'I am what I am,
before God, no more, no less.'
I am old
enough to remember-- this is my 84th year-- the time when there was just a
two-lane road by this town. I remember coming by this very spot, where we are
now located, in my 1941 Plymouth, on the way to Brunswick and Bladen counties, selling Bibles during the
summer of my college years at Chapel Hill. The
place where this large and beautiful campus is located, was just a big farm.
Dr. Henderson gave this farm to the university and hard-working, God-fearing
people, of a small, mostly rural denomination, raised money for these buildings
through church suppers. But, when you have buildings, you have what buildings
can do. When you have faculty and students, you have what they can do. When you
have praying, committed, Christians, giving to this school, then you have what
God can do. I am convinced that, like this school, this county, this state,
this world needs what God can do. My life has been intent on doing God's work.
My Aunt
Mini, reminded me often of a poem I gave, at the age of 6, at a county Sunday
school meeting. She said I had on a white suit,
short pants, white shoes, and a red bowtie. It was 80 years ago and I remember
that it was at the Raines
Crossroads Church,
or at Stony Creek. The poem: Keep on
Keeping On. That is what we will continue to do here in our churches, and
elsewhere.
The
greatest disability of my life has not been my spending most of my life in
total blindness as a 100% disabled veteran. The great disability was not the
poverty in which many of us were raised. My great disability was not in the struggles
I had in going through 8 years of university education, training to be able to
help my fellow man. My greatest disability was not ever getting much
encouragement from anyone. I always felt that if I had been burned at the
stake, most of my family, relatives and associates would have added more wood
to the fire. My aim always, in giving to this institution, was as unto God, and
to give all of you encouragement.
I pray that
God will keep you close to His heart of love, and underneath His hand of
protective care."
After the
presentation of the portrait, there was a wonderful luncheon for all the
guests. It was far, far better for the school to recognize my efforts while
alive, than after I am gone. Too many times, and it happens particularly in
families, appreciation is not recognized/ realized/ vocalized until it is too
late. I have always been bothered by family members spending large sums of
money to buy flowers for a dead father or mother, flowers which the deceased
cannot appreciate, flowers which would have been enjoyed and appropriate when
they were alive
