Wisdom is an unfailing treasure.
Those who gain this treasure
win the friendship of God,
to whom the gifts they have
from discipline commend them.
(Wisdom 7:13-14)

            In the Book of Genesis, Adam was created in the outback, whereas Eve was created in the garden. It’s the Bible’s way of explaining a man’s innate drive to explore the wild, swim the rivers and climb the mountains.
            Later in the story, a young roughneck named Jacob illustrates the extremes to which this drive can “drive” a guy to take risks to win the woman he loves, (29:18), gamble on a lucrative deal (27:1) and refuse to back down from a fight (32:25).
            How does a man temper this drive to conquer and win? The short answer is self-discipline which, interestingly enough, is closely tied to taking risks and testing oneself. We see it take shape in the life of Jacob who, after an all-night wrestling match with an angel, is given a vision of a ladder that reaches to Heaven. Only when he sees life in relation to God does his own life fall into place.
            The true test of manhood is transforming self-service into self-sacrifice. Some men grasp this wisdom sooner than others. I encountered such a man after Mass last Sunday. His name is Daniel. His wife, Lynn, a professional accountant, stood at his side as we engaged in small talk at the back of church.
             I doubt if Daniel had to labor seven years to win Lynn’s hand, as did Jacob, but given his profession—climbing wind turbines—it’s clear than Daniel, like Jacob, has a strong inner drive and plenty of vigor.  
            The turbines that Daniel services are 300 feet high with no mechanical lift to carry workers to the top of the towers. After snapping a safety strap to a rim of a ladder, Daniel ascends the rungs as fast as he can, pausing at intermittent platforms to catch his breath. Typically, such workers climb two towers a day, sometimes three.
            I asked Daniel how he felt about his job. A smile broke across his face.
            “It keeps you in shape,” he said. Then, glancing at his wife, “It also makes a good first impression.”  
            “Not exactly a desk job,” I said.
            “Not by a long shot.”
            I pressed further. “Beside the pay, what’s the payoff?”
            He didn’t have to think about it: “The view from on top. Makes every climb worth the effort.” He went on to describe endless vistas of antelope, deer, homesteads, cattle herds, grassland and canyons.
            “As far as the eye can see! And the sunrises? Beyond words.”
            His smile never dimmed.
            Listening to him there, at the back of the church, I could not help but think of Jacob gazing up a ladder and into Heaven, exclaiming, “Truly, this is the House of God!"
             Daniel read my thoughts.
            “It’s holy, that view.” He paused and glanced at the altar. “Downright holy.”