Very important people

A 15-year-old boy was crying on the platform in Bilbao railway station. He was heading for Barcelona, but his journey was already over because someone had stolen his luggage. He wanted to train as an athlete but his dreams were smashed when he lost everything.

A policeman saw the boy and took him to his superior officer. A search began to find the stolen luggage in the station and on all the trains that had left the station in the last few hours. They finally caught the thief with the stolen bags.

That young boy was JOSE MANUEL ABASCAL, later bronze medallist in the Los Angeles Olympics, champion athlete of Europe and second in the 1987 world championships. Abascal never knew the policeman's name, but he knows that thanks to him, he was able to become a famous runner.

There are thousands of similar examples of unknown people who are extraordinary. Some people consider themselves nobody and their jobs unimportant, and yet many famous people wouldn't be where they are today without them.

Who knows who first gave a ball to Di Stefano? Or who took Julius Erving to his first basketball game? Does anyone know Jesse Owens' parents? Who gave Mark Spitz his love of swimming? Thousands of unanswered questions, thousands of "nobodies" who are really very important people.

You know, no-one can get where they are without a little help, without hundreds of apparent "nobodies" who take the time to help others. Others may not know them. Mankind is the most selfish being in Nature.

Someone who thinks they're "nobody" may be vitally important. God certainly thinks so, and he never forgets what we do. That's why he encourages us not to grow weary of doing good, helping and serving others. Often we do good and get evil in return.

Sometimes it seems that helpfulness has gone out of fashion, but it hasn't. Those who do good keep the rest of us going. Those who help others, make this world bearable. We are most like God when we help others.

Not weary of doing good. People like these live to serve God and others, wherever they happen to be. They don't expect a medal for it. They give of their time, money, and lives to help others. Unknown people, but the most important people in the world.