Scrooge and Marley

“But you were always a good man of business, Jacob.”

So says Ebenezer Scrooge to the ghost of his old partner, Jacob Marley, and it is Marley’s answer that has stayed with me as the lights of Christmas are stowed away for another year. One of the gifts I received this year is the audiobook of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. In the days after Christmas, Betsy and I had the pleasure of listening to this incredible story read aloud to us. Incidentally, the reader is British actor Jim Dale, and there is no one better, I’m sure.

Marley’s ghost is a lamentable character, full of regret and sorrow when he visits Scrooge on Christmas Eve. Marley’s case is so pitiable that even Scrooge, with his emotions well calloused, begins to feel sorry for him. Or perhaps Scrooge begins to feel afraid for himself, since his own life is just like the life of his dead partner. In an effort to steer the conversation back to a positive note, Scrooge says “But you were always a good man of business, Jacob.”

“‘Business!’ cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. ‘Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!’”

In some circles, Marley’s skill and success in his trade were well admired, but he later realized that his trade was not really his business. It makes me wonder about how we discern success among people. Our attention and praise is generally given to those who succeed in wealth and fame, while little thought goes toward those who make humankind their business. Let’s you and I tell a different story than that. Let’s celebrate a different kind of business.