A teaching of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew:
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19-21)

Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of our Unitarian forefathers, wrote:

"A person will worship something ­ have no doubt about that. We may think our tribute is paid in secret in the dark recesses of our hearts ­ but it will out. That which dominates our imaginations and our thoughts will determine our lives, and character. Therefore, it behooves us to be careful what we worship, for what we are worshipping we are becoming."

Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Reconsider your definitions. We are prone to judge success by the index of our salaries or the size of our automobiles rather than by the quality of our service and relationship to mankind."

Like Jesus in the gospels, many preachers tell us that the best way to live is not to be concerned so much with material things. We shouldn't care about making a lot of money, for when life ends "we can't take it with us." When we pass into whatever lies beyond... whether to a heavenly realm or merely return to the dust of the earth, money will be of no use to us. Preachers like Dr. King urge us to think instead about "the quality of our service and relationship to mankind."

They speak of putting our hearts into greater treasures: having good and loving relationship with family and friends, of leading a productive and fulfilling life, of earning a good name and honor in one's community. These are all forms of wealth which we can't take with us, but which we leave behind as worthy legacies.

Here's something to think about on this Memorial Day weekend. What will be your legacy? And whose legacy inspires you? For we live not in isolation, but are influenced by those who have gone before us ... in the great chain of generations.

You might very well argue with me about the importance of money. It's something many of us worry about... no matter our income level. We need money to live, to feed, house and clothe ourselves and our families and to educate our children. You may say, "Do you know the cost of a college tuition? Have you seen the price of gas this week? And don't we deserve some pleasures, some recreation?" I won't argue with you there.

And I also worry about economic justice, the growing gap between the rich and poor. I don't see the virtue of living in poverty. It can be as morally corrupting as being too wealthy. It's one thing to voluntarily choose a life of austerity (maybe living on bread and water in a desert cave) and another to involuntarily suffer poverty.

Yes, of course, we need enough money to live comfortably and securely. May you'd also like to leave behind a generous sum for your children or grandchildren. But I think it's far better to leave behind a legacy of good memories with family and friends and community. It's far better to live nobly and generously and to leave behind a good name.

What then does it mean to store up treasures "in heaven" or in this world? If our lives are not solely about the business of making money or conspicuous consumption (which is the flip side of making money), then what does make us most happy, fulfilled and fully human? One answer is the freedom to make one's own life choices.

Those of you who are theatre and movie buffs may know the comedy You Can't Take It With You, It was written in the1930's during the Great Depression, when a lot of people were struggling to just survive. This popular play was soon made into a movie of the same name. It can be described as escapist, which is understandable considering those hard times. But it also held a deeper message.

The play contrasts a stuffy business tycoon, Anthony Kirby, and his unhappy wife with the good-hearted, eccentric, carefree Sycamore family. The Sycamores follow their dreams... no matter how impossible a dream seems. One adult daughter wants to be a ballerina and has taken lessons from a Russian teacher for years, but is really terrible at it. This zany family's total lack of concern for appearances and success shocks the Kirbys.

In the end the Sycamores have the true keys to happiness. They "convert" the tycoon Mr. Kirby, who realizes how empty and joyless his pursuit of money has been. After all, he can't take his fortune with him to heaven! As the grandfather says to him about money, "You can't take it with you, Mr. Kirby. So what good is it? As near as I can see, the only thing you can take with you is the love of your friends."

We are reminded here of the words of Emerson, "A person will worship something... Therefore, it behooves us to be careful what we worship, for what we are worshipping we are becoming. Where is our treasure? Where shall we put our hearts?

It's hard to argue with the message of this charming play: to follow one's dreams ... no matter how impossible they seem. But is this the path to true happiness? Is it even practical for most people, especially adults with responsibilities? I can't answer that for everyone since life is so complicated but perhaps it's a beginning. I think we all long at some point to be free spirits, particularly in our youth. But for most of us leading a good life is more than being carefree "like the lilies of the field" ... not worrying about where your next meal is coming from.

Spiritual leaders throughout the ages tell us that greater happiness can be found in leading a righteous life, a godly life. But what do they mean? What is righteousness? Even the word may set you on edge. I don't mean righteousness as narrowly defined by the religious right. These folks' sole measure of good seems to be obedience to higher authority and avoidance of sin. For our liberal religious faith tells us there is more to life than this. Such a negative way of living is fear-based. It's more like not living, more life-denying, more like being dead.

So how do we define a life-embracing view of righteousness? In the words of the humanists, the heirs of the Enlightenment, living a good life is to live up to our highest ideals. It is to live in a way that brings about more love, more truth and more justice into society and into the world. In the God language of our Judeo-Christian tradition, living a righteous life is to live in imitation of God. Because God has free will and acts in the world, living in imitation of God is exerting our own free will (like God does) and making good choices. The definition of good choices varies widely, depending on the person, the religion and the culture.

I think that both these views, the more religious (though liberal) view and the humanist one, come down to the same thing. It's just a difference of language.

How do we spend our most precious resources, our time and energy, our intelligence and talent? How do we spend our one precious life? We are often inspired by others... by our parents or beloved grandparents, aunts and uncles, our good neighbors, our inspiring teachers and by the prophets of our times.

On this Memorial Day weekend, I would like to honor a couple of American prophets. One is a military hero who dared to speak truth to power. You may be surprised, knowing me, to hear what I have to say about a former general and Republican president.

My first hero for this Memorial Day is our thirty-fourth president, Dwight D. Eisenhower. I remember as a child lifting my glass of milk in a salute to the President during the children television show of the early 1950's, Big Brother Bob Emery. Along side the American flag, there was Ike's smiling portrait on the wall of the TV studio. I thought he looked a little bit like my grandfather. The show's host Bob Emery led us at home in the milk salute as Hail to the Chief played grandly.

Little did I know back then what a real hero this president was. During World War II, Eisenhower had been the commanding general of victorious forces in Europe. His popularity won him the Presidential election in 1952. Even though I was quite small, I remember the campaign slogan: "I Like Ike."

Although my own parents were Democrats, I believe they felt comfortable with this moderate Republican, who helped heal the country after wartime. As a former general, he worked for peace. He knew the horrors and heart-ache of war and did all he could to avoid the proliferation of nuclear arms around the world. It was only years later, during the anti-Vietnam movement that I learned how Eisenhower had warned Americans of the influences of the growing military industrial complex.

Just as a bit of background, Wikipedia, the on-line encyclopedia, defines the military industrial complex as a "collusion among defense contractors (industry), the Pentagon (military) and the U.S. government (Congress and the Executive branch) as a cartel that works against the public interest and whose motivation is profiteering."

In his final speech as President in 1961, President Eisenhower acknowledged the need for "a permanent armament industry of vast proportions" in order to be able to respond quickly to military threats, particularly the threat from Communism. On the other hand, he warned that we must be wary of this armament industry and "must not fail to comprehend its grave implications."

He said, "In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

"We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."

Near the end of this famous farewell speech, he said, "As we peer into society's future, we -- you and I, and our government -- must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering, for our own ease and convenience, the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. We want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow."

These prophetic words in defense of American democracy still ring true. I think of them as more and more truth comes out about war profiteers and secret mercenary armies, like Blackwater, fighting in the Middle East. I wish that we as Americans had heeded these words back then. We should certainly heed them in present times.

Another prophet I'd like to honor on this Memorial Day weekend is Rachel Carson. About a year after Eisenhower made his farewell speech Miss Carson came out with her world-shaking book, Silent Spring. She was the marine biologist and nature writer who in 1962 told the world about the dire affects of human disregard for the environment. She described the awful affects that widely used chemicals and radiation was having on birds, fish and other wildlife, on soil and water and on human beings. Furthermore, she predicted what would happen if the world remained unrepentant... an environmental apocalypse.

The book was immediately attacked by Monsanto and other major chemical companies as "unscientific" and Miss Carson was personally attacked as being "an hysterical woman." She was threatened, but stood up for what she believed in. The attacks by the chemical companies only brought more attention to the book and gained her great popularity.

Al Gore read the book as a boy and was profoundly influenced by it. Miss Carson was a humble, but passionate prophet of modern times... and a heroine to many. Someone called her a "gentle subversive." Sadly she died an untimely death from breast cancer at age 56. But her legacy was of more value than gold. It is largely because of her and those who followed that we adopted our seventh Unitarian Universalist principle, "Respect for the interdependent we of all existence of which we are a part."

I mention Rachel Carson... not only because I proudly share her first name, but because the country celebrates her 100th birthday today, May 27, as the mother of the environmental movement. Rachel Carson's legacy is being honored at a Kennedy Library Forum on Saturday, June 2 with a distinguished panel of speakers.

These modern prophets, Dwight Eisenhower and Rachel Carson, made the difficult choice to speak out. At critical times in their lives, they chose principle and ideals over anything else. They sought to bring more truth and justice to society, more peace, harmony and well-being to the world. They bravely spoke truth to power on behalf of the common good. May we honor their legacies. And may their memories be blessed.

Plot Summary of "You Can't Take It With You" - The Internet Movie Database, www.imdb.com/title/tt0030993 and Wikipedia On-line Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org./wiki/You_Can't_Take_It_with_You

Biography of Dwight D. Eisenhower, White House website: www.whitehouse.gove/history/presidents/de34.html.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, Military-Industrial Complex Speech, 1961, Michigan State University website: http://www.coursea.matrix.msu.edu/~hst306/documents/indust.htm

Definition of "Military-industrial Complex," Wikipedia On-line Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military-industrial_complex

Linda Lear, Rachel Carson's Biography, 1998. www.rachelcarson.org