On Dreams and "Anyone Can" and "Everyone Cannot"

This blurb just arrived in my inbox from a coworker (this is but a wee bit of it, Dr. M. twaddled on for much longer than this!):

5 Reasons Why Dreams Don't Take Flight, by Dr. John C. Maxwell:

Most of us never see our dreams come true. Instead of soaring through the clouds, our dreams languish like a broken-down airplane confined to its hangar. Through life, I have come to identify five common reasons why dreams don't take flight.

#1 We Have Been Discouraged from Dreaming by Others
We have to pilot our own dreams; we cannot entrust them to anyone else....We have to grasp the controls tightly to keep from being knocked off course.

#2 We Are Hindered by Past Disappointments and Hurts
....Disappointment is the gap that exists between expectation and reality, and all of us have encountered that gap. Failure is a necessary and natural part of life, but if we're going to attain our dreams, then...we have to summon the courage deal with past hurts.

#3 We Fall into the Habit of Settling for Average
Average is the norm for a reason. Being exceptional demands extra effort, sustained inspiration, and uncommon discipline....Through time, our lives become mundane, and our dreams slip away.

#4 We Lack the Confidence Needed to Pursue Our Dreams
....Amelia Earhart....confidently chased after her dream, and she was rewarded with both fulfillment and fame.

#5 We Lack the Imagination to Dream
For thousands of years, mankind traveled along the ground.... Thanks to the dreams of Orville and Wilbur Wright, we now hop across oceans....Imagination lifts us beyond average....Dreams infuse our spirit with energy and spur us on to greatness.

If we were to sum up this bit of Amway-speak in just two words, they would be: "Anyone Can!" This is the mantra today, across the entire "leadership" genre, is it not? "Anyone Can!" One can almost hear the voice on the tape, "You are a 'Go-Getter!'"

But there's a problem. Everyone Cannot. The lie residing just beneath the surface of every fine sounding "Anyone Can" is the fact that "Everyone Cannot." In fact, among certain people groups, past and present, literally Everyone Cannot.

Come with me on a little tour of some of the people groups who have experienced more "Cannot" than "Can."

Imagine, if you will, what it would be like to live as...

...a Javanese islander during Dutch colonialization?

...an Armenian under Turkish occupation in the decades leading up to the first great war?

...a Jew in 1939 Berlin or Warsaw or occupied Holland?

...a Tutsi in 1994 Rwanda?

...one of the non-Arab ethnic groups in Darfur today?

When pressed up against the truth of "Everyone Cannot," the twaddle of "Anyone Can" cannot help but come across as trite.

However...

(With apologies to Dr. King!) I too have a dream!

I dream of the day when those of us in Dr Maxwell's line of work stop talking so much about "leadership" and start talking more about "servant-ship!"

I dream of the day when those of us in Dr Maxwell's line of work aspire to the much higher, much more exciting, and far more rewarding calling of humility in the service of Jesus and the service of those who face their own "Cannots" of this life!

I dream of the day when those of us in Dr Maxwell's line of work truly live to serve and feed and build up those who, on account of those both over and around them, truly "Cannot!"

James says this, "Listen, folks, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man."

Lord Jesus, please give me the strength and courage to serve and to live my life on behalf of my "Cannot" friends!