In Death of a Salesman, the eulogy for Willy Loman expresses the anxious plight of everyone in sales: “He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake.”

Everyone is in sales.  Usually the product we’re selling is ourselves.  Most of the time, we’re ‘riding a smile and a shoeshine,’ eager to keep the customer happy.

In the anxious pursuit to keep everyone happy and to rock no boats, it’s easy to lose yourself and to lose track of the truth. Even though we might wish it wasn’t so, it’s often more advantageous to be liked than to be good at what you do.

Recall the story of Jesus who encounters a man who is alienated from all of society, who is tormented and self-destructive, who lives among tombs – the place of death.  Jesus rescues the man from death and the oppression of evil and in the process wipes out a valuable herd of pigs. (Mark 5:1-17)

What stands out for me is that at the end of the story, when the people in the surrounding area hear about the deliverance of their neighbor, “they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood.” (vs. 17)

I’ve never been fired, and I’m a little disappointed about it.  I don’t think I’ve avoided getting the axe because I have too much talent or because I do my job so well.  Rather, I think I’ve gotten by with a smile and a shoeshine.  I’ve never threatened the prosperity of pig farmers, but then again, who have I released from the oppression of evil?

The measure of success is not merely keeping your job.  And being asked to leave the neighborhood is not necessarily a sign of failure. 

Success is the willingness to be ridden out of town on a rail because you’d rather deliver someone from the place of death than feel a warm pat on the back.

Prayer:  Powerful God, when we’re afraid that we’re riding on only a smile and a shoeshine, remind us that we are borne aloft by the breath of the Spirit.  Amen.