A Jot from John
This is the age of short cuts. We are all in a great hurry seeking to achieve our various goals in minimum time. The painstaking requirements for the great works of art of the past are not being duplicated in the present. If you traveled around the world, I’m sure you would be impressed that so many items such as the great ivory carvings of the Orient, the lace of Belgium, etc., are not being reproduced simply because people will not take the time nor the expend the energy to bring them fulfillment. This attitude is not limited to other nations. All of our schools are concerned with the fact that many students needing work often will not accept the job offers that are available because of the amount of work that is required. In most cases, the salary is satisfactory, but the students say “there’s too much work to do, and I can find an easier job somewhere.”
The real short cut to success is down the trail marked “HARD WORK,” . . . To an improvident relative, Abraham Lincoln wrote in a letter to John D. Johnston, November 4, 1851, “If you intend to go to work, there is no better place than right where you are; if you do not intend to go to work, you cannot get along anywhere. Squirming and crawling about from place to place can do no good. . . . Part with the land you have, and my life upon it, you will never after own a spot big enough to bury you in . . . .Your thousand pretenses for not getting along better are all nonsense; they deceive nobody but yourself. Go to work is the only cure for your case.”
Every person who presents himself as ready to perform the difficult task and who then demonstrates his sincerity by proving his claim will advance rapidly in any endeavor; in fact, his advancement often is almost too swift for his accumulation of experience. As one thinks of God’s plan for man, he is impressed by the call to be peculiar in the sense that we do something to present an attractive picture to a cynical and unbelieving world. Even though we haven’t the ability to do many so-called “great things” we can still provide our witnesses with a great example of leadership through our ability to work. “Love not sleep lest thou come to poverty. Open thine eyes and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.”
The Christian who is alert to his opportunities, dedicated to his responsibilities and willing to exercise himself to the fullest will be rich in the promise of God and will also avoid poverty in this fleshly life. Let us then renew our efforts to provide for ourselves and our loved ones the good things of this life and the great things of the life to come through the employment of our skills to the difficult tasks that the Lord sends us!
Onward Rejoicing, John B. Daniels, Associate Minister
