In our men’s Sunday School class, I recently asked the fellows to think back to childhood and share what they wanted to be when they grew up. To my surprise, no one mentioned professional sports or Superman. 

Charles Stephens was first to respond. “When I was six years old, my mother asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I told her I wanted to have big feet and slop the hogs.”

He had been tagging along with his father, Emmett Stephens, and wanted to follow in his footsteps. Charles got his wish for a good foundation. He used to water ski on bare feet. And his business accomplishments far exceeded those of a big-footed hog slopper.

Marion Hall wanted to be a fighter pilot. He would have made a fine one, but a hearing test clipped his wings. He learned that some medicines prescribed during infancy had done irreparable damage. 

High-altitude thrills hold no appeal which I can fathom. The Georgia State Fair in Macon offered clear evidence I should follow a grounded path.   

Unadilla’s Future Farmers of America rode a school bus to Fair Day in 1969. Robbie Moore and I climbed into the cockpit of the bullet, a two-seat cylindrical contraption. It repeatedly turned us upside down as the support arm rotated in the opposite direction. I quickly regretted eating a foot-long hotdog. When departing the platform, I apologized to the attendant and pointed toward Robbie.   

Mike Joiner, a distant relative, wanted to be a preacher and raise horses. That peculiar combination sort of makes sense. Tending horses could pair well with feeding sheep. Horses rarely complain or hold long committee meetings.

Ronnie Cape is one of our group’s youngsters. He has both hair and hearing. When Ronnie said he wanted to grow up to be just like me, I expected a chorus of “Amens!” Hearty laughter indicated the class didn’t take him seriously.

Then Ronnie told us he had wanted to be a cowboy. Others probably also dreamed of riding the range and using saddles for pillows. Childhood memories may be fading. Some probably didn’t hear the question. I speak softly so as not to wake them.

The first thing I remember wanting to be was an “Injun.” That’s what American Indians were called on TV in the 1950s. I think it was an animated clip at the picture show which inspired me. A little Indian boy was having a splendid time in the great outdoors.

That role became less appealing as I watched Native Americans struggle in Westerns, so I changed horses and switched to cowboying. Mable, a former circus horse, only wanted to go in circles. The brown mare would buck me off if I had other ideas. Mama sent Mable packing. 

Chief came after Mable. He was a pudgy pinto with a painfully slow gait. If I insisted on shifting gears, Chief would drop to his knees and roll over, forcing me to jump from the saddle. The allure of cowboying was stymied by a lazy horse.

Later in childhood I flirted with the idea of becoming a columnist. I liked the witty satire of Art Buckwald and the relentless pursuit of truth by Jack Anderson. As an adult I enjoyed Lewis Grizzard’s humor and the folksy writings of Bill Boyd and Ed Grisamore with The Macon Telegraph. There were also local writers I admired, like Mr. Harry Hamrick. He penned a column called “Whatcha Callit” for decades. Mr. Harry gleaned little jewels from the fields of life.

After sharing our youthful recollections, I posed another question: “How many of you dreamed of growing up to be a humble servant?” We all shook our heads sidewards with knowing smiles.    

Career choices are important, and most of them allow us to honor God in various ways. But maybe our focus should be less on what we achieve and more on what we believe.  

Our scripture lesson that morning was from the tenth chapter of Mark. If we trust what Jesus said, the path to greatness comes through humility.

I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up, but God’s highest calling has often been my lowest priority. It’s challenging for me to enthusiastically embrace humble service, so maybe there are others who might benefit by answering a telling question. What do you want to be when you grow up?