There are moments in our lives when we make decisions that change not only who we are, but the world around us.
A friend of mine recently passed away. His name was Glenn Roseberry, and he was an inspiration to me in what it means to live radically for something greater than yourself.
I met Glenn when he was a successful businessman. I got to know him fairly well, and then one day, he did something so unexpected that I could hardly believe it.
Glenn had a big heart. He simply loved helping people. He had pursued wealth, and that pursuit had come at a cost. But sometime in his 50s, his philosophy on life began to change.
He told me a story once that I’ve never forgotten.
Glenn regularly worked with his local church distributing food to impoverished families in Memphis. One evening, after they had finished handing out groceries, he stepped outside and noticed one of the women they had helped was still standing there.
He asked her why she hadn’t left.
“I don’t have a ride home,” she told him.
Well, Glenn being Glenn, he offered to drive her.
Picture this for a moment. Here was a woman living in poverty, carrying groceries she had just received from charity, being helped into Glenn’s Porsche convertible.
He loaded up her groceries and drove her home.
Glenn never told me what they discussed during that drive. But whatever happened, it was evident that something changed in him.
He made a decision that would alter the rest of his life.
He sold what he possessed and moved to Africa to serve widows and people in need.
He went from a life of luxury to living in a rodent-infested mud home, sharing beds with locals under conditions most of us would find unimaginable.
And he spent the last 14 years of his life serving others, teaching people about our Lord, and helping those in need.
To the world, he gave everything up.
Many of his friends thought he was crazy. At some point, I think I probably did too.
But looking back, I believe Glenn gained far more than he ever gave up.
I’ve been thinking about that since hearing of his passing.
Glenn was like a pebble dropped into a pond. His life created ripples that reached far beyond what he could have imagined. I know because some of those ripples reached me. And I know they reached countless others in Africa.
I write about business quite a bit. But this—this is the business that really matters.
This is my definition of success.
A man who counted the cost, paid the price, and left the world a better place than he found it.
A hundred years from now, probably nobody will remember Glenn’s name. Nor mine, for that matter.
But I believe the effects of his life will still be felt through the ripples he created, with God’s help.
I thank God that He put Glenn in my life.
I’m not writing this to suggest Glenn was a saint. I’m writing it because his life reminds me that what we do matters. The choices we make matter. And sometimes one decision can change everything.
I’m reminded of Our Lord’s words in Scripture:
“For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul?” — Matthew 16:26
In our pursuit of business, wealth, and providing for our families, let us never forget our souls.
Requiescat in pace, my friend.