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If at First You
Don't Succeed...
by
Commission
Wesley Harris
A
NEW
twist of an old adage is that “If at first you don’t succeed,
you’re running about normal!” We are not to be blamed if we
don’t score immediate success.
But we are to be blamed if we allow our first efforts
to be our last. Like others, Salvation Army officers should be
given permission to fail – as long as they then go on to try
other ways of succeeding. The only thing for which we
shouldn’t expect permission is giving up.
Even while we
were candidates some of us may have been warned that officer
ship wouldn’t be a ‘cake walk’.
There would be obstacles to overcome and some would be
within ourselves.
But by refusing to give up and with God’s help it would
possible to go on to success.
I have learnt
through the years that even good ideas can sometimes go down
like lead balloons in one place but take off and fly in
another. Subsequent attempts may
often prove successful.
J.K.Rowling, the
writer of the Harry Potter stories, had rejection slips from
numerous publishers before she found acceptance.
Now we can only feel sorry for those who turned down
chances of the big time and admire the tenacity of one who
refused to give up.
Similarly, Colonel Harland Sanders, the creator of the
‘Kentucky
fried chicken’ recipe took it to scores of outlets and
received umpteen refusals but never gave up until his dream of
sharing it came true.
Winston Churchill
was invited to address students at his old school where the
headmaster told the company that they were about to hear from
one of the greatest orators in the English speaking world and
they would never forget what he had to say. Then Churchill
went to the podium and simply said, “Never, never, never give
up” and then went and sat down!
It may have been the shortest speech he ever gave but
for those who heard it was certainly memorable.
For those who are
set on the furtherance of the gospel these are not easy times;
they are certainly not
for the fainthearted. But as the line of a song has it, “Never
mind, go on!”
Ultimately,
victory is sure.
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