I am part of a generation that understands the virtues of perseverance and patience. Virtues learned at the knees of our parents whose “greatest generation” survived the Great Depression as children and World War II as adults. Winston Churchill was a statesman of their generation. He once said, “Success is failing again and again without losing enthusiasm.” When asked to speak to the students at his alma mater (my generation), Churchill emphasized that they must “never, never, never, ever give up.”
Charles Spurgeon once said, “It was by perseverance that the snails reached the ark.” I am reminded of a cartoon showing a man digging a mine shaft to within inches of a mother lode of gold, only to give up and return to the surface. Once we give up we will never know how close we were to reaching our goal.
Today’s generations have become accustomed to instant gratification. As a young man I had three means of communicating: in-person conversations, land line dial telephones and the U.S. Postal Service. I searched the library and encyclopedia for information. I often shopped several stores before finding the item I wanted to purchase. We now live in a time when technology puts communication, information and even shopping and purchasing at our fingertips. If the wait for a table at a restaurant is 20 minutes or more, I’ve seen young people turn around and leave failing to realize if a restaurant is that popular the food might be worth the wait and it will take at least that long for them to find another restaurant with no wait. Unfortunately for them life isn’t a sprint or dash; sometimes life is like running the high hurdles. Henry Ford once said, “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal.” We must take those hurdles (obstacles) in stride while never taking our eyes off of the finish line. Most of the time, however, life is a marathon.
I fear that these impatient generations will produce fewer golden wedding anniversaries like the one Carol and I enjoyed. A couple was asked on their 60th anniversary for their secret to such a long marriage and the wife responded, “We were raised in a time when if something was broken we didn’t throw it away, we repaired it.” Carol and I repaired our marriage more than once and the result was a wonderful life together. I wonder if these generations will have the perseverance and patience to mend relationships instead of simply moving on looking for that perfect person for them only to be disappointed time after time because they are not the perfect person for someone else.
I also fear our young people might even give up on their faith when the going gets tough. They need Christian parents, grandparents and local churches to encourage them to not only accept Christ as their savior but to allow the Holy Spirit to teach them these virtues. They certainly won’t learn them from today’s society. Paul encourages all of us, “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” (Galatians 6:9) Later in life Paul wrote, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race and I have remained faithful.” As I near the finish line of my marathon, I pray that I too will know that same joy of a race well run.