Alfred Nobel was a Swedish chemist (and inventor of dynamite) that was best known for bequeathing a large portion of his fortune in 1895 to a series of prizes in five areas. That spawned the Nobel Prize for physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace. According to Nobel’s will, the awards were to be given to “those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to mankind.” Winners include such names as (two-time winner) Marie Curie in physics and chemistry, George Bernard Shaw in literature, Martin Luther King, Jr. in peace and Ivan Pavlov in physiology or medicine.
Nobel Prize winners seem like they’re from a different stratosphere. You know of the prize and are familiar with some of the names, but they might as well be from another planet. They are so smart and have accomplished so much and they are so, well, good. On a global stage they have been formally recognized for contributing “great benefit to mankind.” What a distinction!
Feelings of inadequacy creep in when you compare yourself to members of that class. In comparison to those people, what do you have to offer? What makes anything you do meaningful? Well, you can’t blame the Prize. It’s not inherently evil and, on the contrary, it legitimately recognizes excellence. However, rewards for good work is always based on worldly comparisons. Nobel himself wrote that the Prize was to be awarded to those who conferred “the greatest benefit to mankind.” If true, then the question is, “According to whom?”
You need not fret about the comparison game because you know, unequivocally, the identity of the “Whom” (and it’s not the Norwegian Nobel Committee). It is God, and He has detailed what must be done to contribute meaningfully to this world.
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Mic. 6:8)
Doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly with your God is not going to win you a blue ribbon with the world. In fact, true commitment to those principles is likely to result in conflict and ridicule. However, God is looking you straight in the eye and telling you through the prophet Micah, “I have told you what is good.” Are you listening?
You’ll notice that God’s mandate doesn’t necessitate an advanced education. You need not be as intelligent as Niels Bohr nor as articulate as Ernest Hemingway to accomplish the work that He requires. Choosing to be just, having an affinity for kindness and walking humbly with God can be achieved by His most slow-witted children. In his benediction, the author of Hebrews wrote:
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Heb. 13:20–21)
God has equipped you with all the tools you need to do his will. If His will is that you do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with Him, then by necessity He has given you everything you need to see it through. What’s more, the “great benefits” that are “conferred to mankind” in your obedience to God’s command are also of benefit to you.
For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. (Heb. 6:10)
You probably have not contributed to Theoretical Physics like Albert Einstein, nor have you discovered the next penicillin like Alexander Fleming, yet God has not overlooked your obedience. According to Matthew 16:27 “the Son of Man is going to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay each person according to what He has done.”
Take your eyes off the accomplishments of others and pray that God would help you to faithfully do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with Him. Be encouraged that the love and service that have been performed in God’s name will receive a reward much greater than a Nobel Prize.