He Tangata: Why People Are the Most Important Thing

I started my career in Mental Health support in a large old boarding house that was a kind of halfway house for people needing quite intensive support. Hanging on the wall of the lounge was a wooden plaque with this Māori Proverb on it.

The Proverb on the Wall

He Tangata: Not Money, Career, or Fame

When I first read this proverb, I didn’t fully agree with it. As a Christian, my most important thing is my relationship with God. The relationship I have with the three-fold family of God is paramount for me. Out of this relationship flows love for people who long to be truly known.

However, what I think this proverb is saying is that the outworking of your life is to be people, not money, career, fame, etc.

We can so easily become distracted away from ‘He tangata’ by all sorts of alluring attractions.

We can run from ‘He tangata’ because of fears we have. ‘He tangata’ is not safe — ‘tangata’ are like us: messy, unpredictable.

‘He tangata’ are potentially dangerous to your well-being, but is being well your first priority?

Mother Teresa’s Words: Love Anyway

Some verses found on the wall of Mother Teresa’s bedroom echo our thoughts.

• People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
• If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
• If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
• If you are honest and sincere, people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
• What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
• If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
• The good you do today will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
• Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
• In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

What Is Your Most Important Thing?

So the question will be asked of you about your life. What was the most important thing? So what is it? Leave a comment below.

If loving people well is something you wrestle with too, you might find these helpful next reads: building a support “nest” of kindness and compassion, or learning to listen without rushing to fix people.

Read further

• You Want to be Known but … — Discover why “being known” is the deepest human need and how to dismantle the walls of shame and stigma in our relationships and mental health.
• To the Power of Being Known — To be known means that you allow your shame and guilt to be exposed—in order for them to be healed. To be known is to be pursued, examined
• The Healing Nest of Kindness and Compassion — Discover the power of building a supportive community nest of relationships filled with deep compassion, kindness, and lived truth.
• God is Compassion — Discover hope in a broken world. Explore how God’s compassion fuels the movement between justice, mercy, and grace when you fail.
• Please. No Fixing, Advising, Saving or Straightening Out — Stop fixing and start listening. Discover why saving or advising stifles wisdom and how open-ended questions create deeper soul connections.
• A Tribute to a Friend – Dr. Larry Crabb — Honoring Dr. Larry Crabb: A journey from psychology to soul care, the power of true community, and the legacy of connecting with the heart.

Barry Pearman

Image by Clayton Scott, Creative Commons Flickr.

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