Mankind Was My Business: A Christmas Reminder to Prioritize What Truly Matters

In Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, Marley’s ghost appears to Ebenezer Scrooge with a huge wake-up call for us all. Weighed down by heavy chains due to living for selfish pursuits, Marley reveals the true weight of a life lived for the wrong things. His warning is not only to Scrooge but to all of us who might be tempted to focus on what the world deems important—money, success, productivity—at the expense of what really matters.

The conversation begins with Scrooge, desperate to understand his old partner’s torment, faltering, “But you were always a good man of business, Jacob.”

Marley’s anguished reply hits like a hammer:
“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!”

Marley’s words are sobering because they reveal a truth that is easy to overlook in our daily lives: it’s not profits or productivity that matter most—it’s people.

It’s always people.

The Comprehensive Ocean of Our Real Work

Marley’s regrets make me pause.

And I kinda think they should make us all pause. He calls his earthly work—his pursuit of trade, business, and profit—a drop of water compared to the vast ocean of his real business, which is caring for others.

**How often do we mistake the drop for the ocean?

We pour ourselves into schedules, tasks and to-do lists, believing that being busy is the same as being useful. We chase accomplishments, financial success, and the next goalpost while the people around us—our family, friends, neighbors, even strangers—become background noise. Marley’s message is so clear and so challenging: there’s nothing wrong with work, but when it blinds us to the needs of others, we’ve completley missed the point.

What if We Truly Lived This Out?

Marley’s haunting truth forces us to ask ourselves some challenging questions:

• What if mankind truly was our business?
• What if we prioritized mercy over metrics, people over projects, and compassion over busyness?
• What if we made kindness our job and loving others the bottom line?

Imagine a world where our days were filled not just with tasks but with purposeful, intentional love for others. A world where charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence weren’t afterthoughts but the very definition of true and genuine success.

Here’s what this could look like in real life:

1. Prioritize People in Daily Life

• Slow down and truly see the people around you—your kids, spouse, coworkers, or even the stranger at the checkout line.
• Look them in the eye, put away distractions, and give your full attention when someone speaks.
• Send a thoughtful text or handwritten note to someone who needs encouragement or to simply say, “I see you. You matter. You’re loved.”
• Put down your phone and connect with those right in front of you.
• Sit down for an extra 10 minutes at bedtime to hear your child’s thoughts.
• Take the time to ask a coworker, neighbor or spouse how they’re really doing.

The project can wait. People are eternal.

2. Make Time for Meaningful Connections

• Invite a friend over for coffee, even if the house isn’t perfect. Focus on presence over perfection.
• Extend grace to someone who has wronged you. Be quick to forgive.
• Respond with patience when you feel frustrated or inconvenienced.
• See the person, not just their flaws or failures.
• Pick up the phone and call someone you’ve been meaning to reconnect with—don’t wait for the perfect time.
• Take your kids on a walk or snuggle up for 10 extra minutes at bedtime to ask about their hearts: “What’s making you happy? What’s making you sad? How can I pray for you?”

Our world celebrates performance. We measure progress in numbers—income, appearance, productivity, and success. But Jesus’ metrics are different. He doesn’t look at what we’ve achieved but how we’ve loved.

3. Show Unexpected Kindness

• Keep care kits in your car—include water, snacks, socks, and a note of encouragement to hand out to someone in need.
• Offer to babysit for a mom who rarely gets a break or run errands for an elderly neighbor who needs support.
• Pay for someone’s coffee or meal without expecting recognition.
• Help a neighbor carry groceries or shovel their driveway.
• Reach out to someone who feels unseen or overlooked and remind them they matter.

4. Choose Mercy and Compassion

• Hold your tongue when it would be easy to criticize, and respond with grace instead.
• Forgive quickly, even when it’s hard—especially when it’s hard.
• Look for someone who feels left out or overlooked and go out of your way to include them with kindness.

5. Reorient Your Priorities

• Put the to-do list aside when someone you love needs your time or attention.
• Learn to say no to busyness so you can say yes to what truly matters—like family dinners, serving at church, or showing up to help a friend in need.

6. Give Generously

• Donate to a cause that serves people in need or sponsor a child through a ministry.
• Share what you have—clothes, food, resources, or your time—without worrying about getting something in return.
• Give freely and cheerfully, knowing you are stewarding God’s great gifts for His great glory.

7. Live Out Love Intentionally

• Pray for someone every time they cross your mind, and let them know you did.
• Look for opportunities to serve rather than shine—help quietly in ways no one else sees but God.
• Show up. For your family, friends, church, or someone who needs you, even when it’s inconvenient.

_________

At the end of our lives, I doubt any of us will look back and wish we’d spent more time working late, earning more money, or climbing the next ladder. Instead, we’ll care about the relationships we built, the people we loved, and the lives we touched.

In Marley’s words, “The common welfare was my business.” As followers of Christ, this isn’t just a nice thought—it’s our calling. Jesus made mankind His business. He spent His days feeding the hungry, healing the broken, and reaching out to the forgotten. He calls us to do the same:

“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” – Matthew 25:40

Living This Out Today

This Christmas season, let’s not let the rush of tasks or the weight of busyness distract us from what really matters. Instead, let’s choose to live like mankind is our business.

• Love the people in your home well.
• Extend mercy to someone who doesn’t deserve it.
• Look for ways to serve quietly, without expecting anything in return.
• Remember that every small act of kindness builds an eternal legacy.

Let’s not miss the ocean because we’re too focused on the drop.

Mankind is our business. Let’s live like it together!

It doesn’t take grand gestures to make “mankind your business.” It’s the small, consistent choices to see, love, and serve the people right in front of you.

“Do small things with great love.” – Mother Teresa