The Most Interesting Man in the World
“After three
days they found (Jesus) in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening
to them and asking them questions.” (Luke 2:46)
On occasion, a commercial pops up on
our television screen featuring a bearded, debonair gentleman sitting in an elegant bar, hoisting a bottle of his favorite beverage (the point of the commercial)
and regaling a bevy of beautiful women with tales of derring-do, while “Barcelona
Nights”
plays softly in the background. He is “The World’s Most
Interesting Man.”
Not at my table. He’d be a
crashing bore.
The most interesting people in the
world are not raconteurs who can gain and hold the floor, but rather those who
ask questions of others, listen intently and make other people the center of
attention. To put the thought another way: The most interesting people in the
world are interested in other people. That’s the mark of divine love: being more
interested in others than we are in ourselves (Philippians 2:3,4).
So, next time you find yourself in a
social situation, looking for something worthwhile to do, find a wallflower and ask a
question or two, listen well, ask thoughtful follow-up questions and try not to launch into your own stories ("Yeah, that happened to me once..."). You will leave
behind a blessing and the memory of your presence may linger on—we remember best the people
that loved us well—and, who knows? You might become the
most interesting person in the world.
DHR