“Never, Never, Never”
“But for everyone, surely, what we have
gone through in this period - I am addressing myself to the School - surely
from this period of ten months this is the lesson: never give in, never give
in, never, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty -
never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to
force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”
These are the words of Winston Churchill
presented before the Harrow School on a visit on October 29, 1941. Britain had
been at war since 1939 and the days seemed dark and ominous. He listened to the
student body as they sang several traditional songs adding at the end of one a
tribute to Churchill. He was touched and gave the “never, never, never” speech.
There are times that we all get to the
point that we want to give up. We have all had those days when the burdens
seemed too heavy to carry. I can’t count the number of times that people would
tell us how they just didn’t see how we could take care of our son, Scottie,
for forty years. They would usually add, “I could never do that!” My answer was
always, “If you had to you probably would!” It was a tough forty years. There
were times that we wanted to give up. There were times that the burden brought
tears and heartaches. There were times that the weight seemed almost too heavy
to carry. However, each time we would always get a second wind and be able to
make it to the next hurdle.
In his book, “Biscuits, Fleas, and Pump
Handles” Zig Ziglar talks about what he called the loser’s limp. That’s the
limp that a runner has when he realizes he’s not going to be able to hold an on
to win or make a great finish. You’ve seen them, along the backstretch,
striding along then as the inevitable becomes apparent, they put their hand
behind grasping their hamstring and limping to the side. It was their way of
losing without feeling the pain of being a quitter. They gave all appearances
of being hurt, but it was more pride than pain.
Many people, when the going gets rough
develop that “loser’s limp.” They look for ways to bow out without having to
finish the race. Things get so tough and instead of trying to “tough it out,”
they just give in to the pressure. Giving in is much easier than sticking out
the rough times. The problem is that when we give in we never finish the race.
Sometimes it leaves things undone, other times it leaves a situation that
someone else must deal with and at others leave us with an empty feeling of
failure.
True leadership requires stamina. It
means that we must keep going even with the way is dark and hard to follow.
That’s why not everyone is cut out to be a leader; it’s hard. He or she is
expected to be the strength when everyone else fails. He is the captain that
won’t leave the ship until everyone else is safe. He is the sword carrier that
leads his troops into battle. He is the last one to retire for the evening and
the first to arise. True leaders carry the burden of responsibility even when
everyone else has left. True leaders face the enemy head-on.
We live in a world where Satan is active
in his attempt to turn men, women, and children away from God. He throws
obstacles in the way trying his hardest to get people to stumble. His attacks
are blunt and blatant. In a way, he dares leaders to stand up to the constant
bombardment of his life destroying darts.
Leaders, good leaders, however, never,
never, never, “never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”
They stand firm. They don’t quit. They don’t turn and run. They, by their
example, show those who follow what it means to be Jesus in a world of that
wants to ignore his existence.
Why could we handle our special needs child, Scottie, for forty
years? Simple. We loved him, and there wasn’t anything that we would not face
to care for his needs. In the same way, true leaders let nothing stand in their
way of leading their followers. We do it because we love them and we love our
Lord.
“Never in nothing, great or small, large
or petty – never give in.”
___________________________
The LORD
is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be
afraid?
Psalm 27:1
