Intellectual meets spiritual

In a quest of continuing to improve myself as a person, boss, Christian, leader, etc, I read a lot of things.  Some things are highly intellectual, others are spiritually profound, while yet some things are relatively mundane or not worth reading at all.  That being said, I thought I would share a story today that stirred me both professionally and spiritually, and yet in a polar opposite manor.  Below is an excerpt from an article in the "New York Times" from earlier this year.  The key premise of the article focuses on acquiring happiness by helping others find what they are looking for ( a principle that in general I whole heartedly agree).  The gentlemen who is the subject of the interview is a man by the name of Adam Grant, who is already making a significant name for himself in the intellectual community.  I enjoyed the article, and will likely be reading his book "Give & Take" in the not too distant future, however I wanted to point out the part of the story that stirred me spiritually:

"We were sitting in Grant’s office one afternoon talking about efficiency, when he said: “The truth is, I don’t care how many articles I publish or how many words I write. Productivity is an imperfect way of indexing how much I’m contributing, how I’m using my limited time to make the most difference.”
It wasn’t until I was transcribing the conversation a few days later that I realized that when he referred to his limited time, he wasn’t just talking about a busy schedule; there was a more existential tug in the phrase. I brought it up with him by phone.
“It’s the kind of thing I almost never talk about,” Grant said. “But my responsibility is to be open.” Mortality, he said, was the one subject that gave him something like panic attacks. He had always felt that way, since he was a brainy, sensitive kid playing basketball in his driveway, staring at the sun, suddenly terrified of what would happen when it burned out. That was why he first wanted to be a scientist — before he realized biology bored him and he would never reinvent physics — so he could help figure out how to extend life, or at least design the spacecrafts that he is sure, even now, will take us to safer planets if this one runs dry. Mortality, he said, is “something I can’t fix. I can’t do anything with or about it.” He can’t let himself think about it too much; he has lost days at a time to his anxiety, “to the point that it’s the equivalent of extreme physical pain.”- Credit to the New York Times, " Is Giving the Secret to Getting Ahead?" By SUSAN DOMINUS the rest of the article can be found here

There are some key points here that leapt off of the page to me.  1. Mr. Grant recognizes that he has a finite amount of time in which to perform what he feels is his life's work.  2.  Mortality is a major point of anxiety for him and always has been, even since he was a small child.  3.  Regardless of all his intelligence, creativity, problem solving, or out of the box thinking, he can not fix the problem of mortality himself...he can do NOTHING about it.  4.  This problem that he can't solve causes him such anxiety that "it's the equivalent of extreme physical pain."  

Keep in mind, that this article was from the "New York Times", not a Christian newspaper.  They pointed out the extreme duress that Mortality was causing Mr. Grant.  I couldn't help but to be compelled to pray for him.  That is no way to live a life, a life full of dread, worry, sorrow, even agony over the unknown.  Yet amazingly enough, he was experiencing all of these negative consequences, while seeking happiness through the fulfillment of others.  I was reminded of Philipians 4;5-7 

5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;

6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."(Philippians 4;5-7)
and Matthew 6;34
34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. 

I don't know if Mr. Grant will ever read this post, but I want all who do read it to know one thing.  God sent His only son, Jesus, to die on the cross to pay the price for ALL of our sin.  Believe, confess your sin, repent, ask for forgiveness and give your life to Him today.  This simple truth eliminates the worry of mortality.  I'm not saying that there won't be tough days, but there is great comfort in knowing that you need not worry about tomorrow, because God knew it was coming before you were even born.  God knew how it was going to turn out, and He has a plan for you.  Mr. Grant, the best thing you can do for tomorrow is not try to control it, worry about it, or have anxiety over it...the best thing you can do is trust God with it.

P.S. This is in no way intended to be negative towards Adam Grant in any way, I just felt compelled to share my own compulsion to pray for him.  Mr. Grant, if you should happen to read this, I would like to extend to you the same courtesy to you that you extend to your students.  Drop me a note and I will be sure to take time to reply or perhaps even have a chat.  Regards!