Monday, 4 June 2007

Never, never, never, never, never give up!



I have been reading a book on Churchill & Hitler... to very interesting men and great leaders (not morally, just in ability).

What has really grabbed me as I have been reading their comparisons is how they had to persist to get where they got.
For instance, Hitler was a complete and utter failure in the 1920's... his NSDAP (nicknamed Nazi party) was headed nowhere... polling a mere2.6% of the vote in 1928. Most people in the 20's regarded Hitler as a joke leader of a joke party.
Churchill too was a man plastered with failure and ridicule... his brainchild, the Gallipoli campaign in WW1 was a hopeless failure (he is even said to have briefly considered suicide because of it), and his ensuing political career was a joke... he was even narrowly kicked out of his own constituency by a 3 to 2 vote.

It could be said that these 2 men had every reason to give. To walk away.
But they didn't.
They stuck it out.
They knew that their lives would make a difference.
They had iron grit.

How about you?
What would it take for you to give up?
What set of circumstances would cause you to walk away from your 'destiny', your mission to make a difference in this world, to follow those God given dreams and desires... to settle in for mediocre... for a comfortable life?

Interesting that just about every great man... every great leader has faced seemingly insurmountable challenges... but these molded him / her... it shaped their characters.
How was are those words of St James:
Jas 1:2-4 ESV (2) Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, (3) for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. (4) And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Thats why one of Churchill's greatest speeches was simply,
"Never, never, never, never, never give up!"



I look forward to hearing your comments!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I guess just an initial thought would be that perhaps neither of these indivduals looked at the people around them for the courage to push through, I dunno, don't know there full story, but I think of experience and working with people can be a rollercoaster and if I looked to them for courage all the time I would be defeated.

That's why vision is so powerful, becuase it allows you to look beyound your present and stare deeply into the future you kow God has placed before you.

Anyway, just some initial thoughts

Clive Smit said...

Your comment is interesting as both of these men felt deeply that their leadership was 'destined' or 'meant to be'.

It was this very belief that carried them through the wilderness years...