Hercule Poirot is a very unusual character. Do you know the name? Yes, that’s the one. Agatha Christie’s famous and fictitious, “little Belgian” detective who always solves the mystery and does so in an elegant way. Poirot is the one sitting on the beach while wearing a perfectly pressed white suit, large straw hat to protect his stylish mustache. The actor David Suchet portrays Poirot perfectly, throwing little quips and comments to impress the “lesser” folks like me. In a very dated but interesting episode, after solving the murder when the incompetent police could not, Poirot turns to an amazed bystander and says: “Poirot is as magnanimous in defeat as he is modest in victory.”
Lift that phrase out of the TV drama and slip it into the puzzle of today’s culture. Think of it as a possible guidepost for how one might act in the face of defeat or victory. In a winner takes all, do anything you can to get ahead, truth and character don’t matter, society, perhaps being modest in victory is not a bad idea. Perhaps being magnanimous in defeat would be better than blaming and name calling. The word means “generous in forgiving an insult or injury; free from petty resentfulness or vindictiveness.”
In our faith tradition, Jesus used to talk about forgiveness and a generous spirit. He endorsed both ideas: forgive as you are forgiven; be generous in both words and actions. He wasn’t suggesting, he was teaching a new way of living, a mandate. So, today, when defeat or victory touches your life, think of Hercule: magnanimous and modest. Then remember the real reason to respond in these ways to life’s ups and downs: the One who loves you most and calls you to his side, Jesus, the Christ of God, is the voice of the universe while at the same time a deeply personal guide to abundant life. He calls us to demonstrate magnanimous spirits of love and modesty in all things, a life lesson for those on the journey to the fulness of God’s kingdom. Press on!
Shining Spirit 
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