The late Harvard Chaplain Peter Gomes once wrote about sharing the commencement platform of Duke University with Jimmy Carter, he as baccalaureate preacher and Carter as commencement speaker. Trying to make small talk with President Carter, Rev. Gomes said, “My gosh, you certainly have earned the moral accolades of the century with your conduct as ex-president and all the wood works that you do.”
Jimmy Carter smiled rather sweetly (don’t we all remember that smile), and said, “If all the people who respect me today had voted for me yesterday, things might have been considerably different…” Gomes then commented: “—and different they might well have been.”
He continued: “Just think what happened. As president he exemplified mercy, kindness, humility out of his genuine Southern Baptist piety, and what did we think of that? We laughed at him and thought him ‘unpresidential.’
“If everybody today who respected the late Jimmy Carter had voted for him the second time around, the course of American history might well have changed. That is probably why we didn’t vote for him: we couldn’t risk the change. We couldn’t afford the change. We dare not have a real Christian in public office.”
Instead, in 1981, the U.S. voted for someone who would sell arms to Iran and illegally funnel money to the socialist Sandinista government of Nicaragua; who would initiate the taxing of Social Security benefits; who initiated regulations which would bankrupt 747 Savings and Loans companies and ultimately cost the American taxpayers 125 billion dollars— the worst public scandal in American history. I believe some of you will remember the famous debate line from the 1980 presidential debate: “There you go again.” The line was not spontaneous: Reagan pulled it off because briefing papers used by President Jimmy Carter had been stolen by Reagan’s team. This was not divulged to the public until late June 1983. Such things occur when we dare not have a real Christian in public office.
I could enumerate here many of the accomplishments of the Carter presidency, but most of you are probably not old enough to remember those years. Instead, I hope we will most remember his post-presidency dedication to Habitat for Humanity. Habitat is the restoration and building, by both volunteers and future residents, of affordable housing for the poor.
In September of 1984, Jimmy Carter and wife, Rosalynn Carter, led a group of Habitat volunteers to New York, building alongside 19 families in need of housing. That was the inaugural Carter Work Project, which is now a week-long event somewhere around the world each year.
The 2024 Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project was a landmark milestone for Habitat, marking the project’s 40th anniversary! Habitat Humanitarians and country music superstars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood hosted the event in St. Paul, Minnesota, from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1, 2024.
Jimmy Carter died on December 29, 2024, at the age of 100. His “accolades” will be recalled for many days to come—and his accomplishments expressed with far more diligence than I am able to in this column. But I would like to express what I believe is Jimmy Carter’s destiny.
You remember when Jesus was trying to reassure the disciples before his death. John records his words: “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”
I can just imagine his promise to the beloved Carter: “Jimmy, I go to build a house for you; I mean a real mansion: That where I am, there you may be also.”
Don’t you just know Jimmy Carter would respond, “Can I help?”
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