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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodist News |
September 2001 |
Mini-homily:
Don't give up on a good idea
By Scott Mann
There is a story about a writer, in his 50s, who had written a manuscript for a book and sent it to several publishers without success. He grew so discouraged that he threw the manuscript into the wastepaper basket. As his wife tried to salvage it, he told her sternly, "We've wasted enough time on it. I forbid you to remove it from the wastebasket!"
Well, you know how well things like that work. She decided the manuscript should be seen by at least one more publisher. When she arrived at the publisher's office, she pulled out the most unusual looking package that the publisher had ever received as a manuscript. Underneath a wrapping of brown paper was a wastepaper basket still holding the writer's manuscript. This way, she reasoned, she was not technically going against her husband's wishes. She did not retrieve the manuscript -- the publisher did it for her. And when he read it, he loved it.
The writer in this story is Norman Vincent Peale; the manuscript -- "The Power of Positive Thinking." The book that Peale tossed in the trash eventually sold 30 million copies.
It's hard to imagine that the grandfather of the positive thinking movement was ready to give up on the book that launched his career. This serves to remind us all that no one is immune to discouragement; everyone wants to throw in the towel on occasion. Fortunately for Norman Vincent Peale, Ruth Peale remembered the words of Paul .
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." (Galatians 6:9)
When our efforts don't seem to yield immediate returns, we may be tempted to quit. Paul reminds us not to look at the results, but to stay focused on the process of doing good. If we do, we have assurance from God's word that our individual, family and church life will reap a harvest that it deserves.
The Rev. Scott Mann is pastor of North Webster UMC in the Warsaw District.
Last updated on 01/14/2004