Written by Van Yandell
Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Normally, articles do not begin with an excerpt from another’s writing but in this case it seems appropriate. The following comes from the Andrew Carnegie book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” published in 1936.
“Charles Schwab had a (steel) mill manager whose people weren’t producing their quota of work. “How is it,” Schwab asked him, “that a manager as capable as you can’t make this mill turn out what it should?” “I don’t know,” the manager replied. “I’ve coaxed the men, I’ve pushed them, I’ve sworn and cussed, and I’ve threatened them with damnation and being fired. But nothing works. They just won’t produce.” This conversation took place at the end of the day, just before the night shift came on. Schwab asked the manager for a piece of chalk, then, turning to the nearest man, asked: “How many heats (term used in steel production of quality units) did your shift make today?” “Six.” Without another word, Schwab chalked a big figure six on the floor, and walked away. When the night shift came in, they saw the “6” and asked what it meant. “The big boss was in here today,” the day people said. “He asked us how many heats we made, and we told him six. He chalked it down on the floor.” The next morning Schwab walked through the mill again. The night shift had rubbed out “6” and replaced it with a big “7.” When the day shift reported for work the next morning, they saw a big “7” chalked on the floor. So the night shift thought they were better than the day shift did they? Well, they would show the night shift a thing or two. The crew pitched in with enthusiasm, and when they quit that night, they left behind them an enormous, swaggering “10.” Things were stepping up. Shortly this mill, which had been lagging way behind in production, was turning out more work than any other mill in the plant. The principle? Let Charles Schwab say it in his own words: “The way to get things done,” say Schwab, “is to stimulate competition. I do not mean in a sordid, money-getting way, but in the desire to excel.”
To excel and win seems to be a human trait. Many humans have a desire to be the best we can be at everything we do. Second place is the first loser and none of us want to be there.
The experiences of life may very well be my greatest earthly treasure. Living for the experiences has been a life style and I realized many years ago, my experiences were the one thing that could not be taken away from me in this life.
Any physical possessions, such as health, can be lost in the blink of an eye. Material possessions can be stolen by a thief or a government. Don’t think for a second a government would never do that; it has happened many times by governments throughout history. If you don’t believe it, compare tax rates around the world or go to any communist country.
One of our greatest motivators is to be challenged. Not everyone loves a challenge but most will respond to them, at times in their sub-conscious. If you don’t believe that, simply say something (personally) negative to someone and see how they react.
Many of my greatest accomplishments (well, they were great to me) were the results of challenges. We received an email from disaster relief; a CDL-A driver (semi-truck driver) was needed. I’d already had thoughts that I’d like to learn to drive an eighteen but had never acted on it.
I went to the DMV, got a study book, took the written test and was surprised to once again see “best answer” questions. The challenge now was to learn to drive a semi-trailer truck and parallel park. I have to confess, I failed the first driving test. Of course I had all kinds of excuses, but the bottom line is, I failed. As depressing as failure was, it increased my determination.
That failure taught me and with considerable practice, two weeks later I passed the driving test. I’m not going to say “with flying colors”. For many of us, the challenge to motivation is because the end goal is difficult. If things are too easy, there’s no reward in the accomplishment.
John Kennedy’s ‘moon shot’ speech, September 12th, 1962, threw down one of the greatest challenges in mankind’s history. Kennedy directly set a challenge for the United States to send a man to the moon “this decade.” Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon July 16, 1969.
Christians regard the Great Commission as a mandate from Jesus to tell the world about Him. It appears Jesus was not simply presenting us with a request, He was challenging us. To promote the Gospel as a missionary, church pastor, evangelist or church member is not an easy thing to do in today’s world.
In the world of Jesus and the Apostles, nearly 2000 years ago, it was as much or more difficult than it is today. Christianity was a new and completely different religion. Eternal salvation was changed for the Nation of Israel from works, to grace and mercy by what Jesus did (John 1: 17).
Working as missionaries, we tried to determine why Christians are so hesitant to share the faith. We never came to any reasonable conclusion other than it was perhaps a challenge many did not want to face. We did, however, develop a series of lessons on Christian witnessing (sharing of the faith). The three sessions involved methodology, scriptural encouragement and a number of other concepts.
One conclusion we felt was accurate was that Christians are afraid they do not possess enough information and are scared someone will ask a question they cannot answer and many sure do not like to say “I don’t know,” Another reason is that to give Christian witness was not on people’s minds except in a church service or class and at times we simply forgot to share.
We were asked by a pastor to present the three lessons on three consecutive Sunday evenings. After the second lesson, we were approached by the pastor and told that lesson three was not needed at that time. We were told that we could come back at a later date and present number three. That later date never came.
I asked a friend that attended the church what was the problem. His response: “You challenged them!” Some people love a challenge and others do not. Based on this example, challenges do not always work.
For us to have to be challenged to share the great gift of eternity our Jesus offers is a little lopsided in itself. If we treasure our salvation, why would we not be willing to share it?
I’m not going to throw down a challenge to readers to share the Gospel honoring Jesus’ last statement before ascending (Acts 1: 8); but I would urge any Christian to throw down that challenge to him/herself.
Galatians 6:9 “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”