He’s Been There All The Time: A Story
I’m putting the following in my own words for ease of writing, but it comes from Bremner: The Real King Billy by Richard Sutcliffe. If you’re not a football fan, no worries, the point isn’t about football as you’ll discover.
It’s 1961 and 40 years after their formation Leeds United are struggling. Having been relegated from the top division, they are not doing too well in the second tier. After a string of poor results, the existing manager quits. The search for a new manager begins, but it is fraught with difficulty especially following the last time they looked for a manager and faced a number of embarrassing rejections. Even a non-league manager turned them down to stay where he was.
The chairman of the club then ponders what options are open to him. As he does so, a senior player who used to be one of the best players not to be picked for his country and had even won the country’s Footballer of the Year award was looking to move on. Knowing that his days as a player were winding to an end he was looking to become a coach or a manager elsewhere. He had a few offers, but was not able to take them up.
At last one offer arrived that he was keen to pursue, so because of his good relations with the board, he asked the chairman to write a reference for him. As the chairman began to write out a glowing reference for the player, it occurred to him that the qualities he was outlining in the letter were the very qualities that he was looking for in someone who would take charge at Leeds United. He finished the letter, but never sent it. Rather, he invited the senior player in and offered him the job. Eventually the deal was agreed.
This turned out to make history for Leeds United. The player’s name was Don Revie and he would turn out to be the most successful manager in the history of the club not only getting them promotion but leading them to win major honours and transforming them from being on the brink of relegation to the third tier of professional football to being one of the best teams in Europe.
Like My Dad: Personal Application
It remains amazing how swift I am to look for the next best thing. I am actually not someone to really crave the latest gizmos, I’m not that much of a techno-freak. Yet I’m honest enough to admit that every so often my eye is drawn to this or the other as the answer to some need. It doesn’t have to be a technical issue. Maybe I want a new job because I’m not enjoying the current one. Perhaps I want new friends because the ones I have are too superficial.
Whenever I’m stuck and have a hankering for the new, there’s always something there to challenge me. The challenge is simple. Have I really made the most of what I have? What’s the point in looking for something new when I haven’t made the most of something old?
My Dad is a great example to me in this instance. My Dad simply wouldn’t get new shoes until the shoes he had were well worn to the point of becoming dilapidated. (Awesome word – dilapidated. Use it with your friends today.) He would stick the car he had even while others called it an old banger, because it could still a job for him. Just when we thought we were in a bind, he would discover something that was there that hadn’t been utilised. He would find a use for it and our issues were resolved.
He wasn’t against the new. He just had the impression that to be a good steward meant making the most of what God had given you. This quality is now more than evident in the life and times of his firstborn, my older sister, who is brilliant at being resourceful.
Stir Up One Another – Never Neglecting What You Already Have
I know from experience that there are people in church communities who are sitting there, wasting away carrying on with the same old church routine whose contributions to the Body of Christ are being criminally neglected. I know from experience that there are people in workplaces who are sitting there, wasting away, carrying on with the same old work routine, whose contributions to their employers are being criminally neglected. I know from experience that there are people in our lives … you can complete the sentiment.
When I read in Hebrews that we should stir one another to good works, I read of ensuring that the brethren are never underutilised. that isn’t just a case of people at work, it’s about the Body of Christ ensuring all its members is relating with each other as it should.
I get excited to find out what God reveals when we choose to make the most of what He has given us. It might not be the case that we’ll unearth something that will transform fortunes to be the greatest in the continent. It may very well be the case that in applying good stewardship with what God has given us, we will have no need to covet anything from our neighbours and rejoice in what God has provided that is right under the nose.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
dmcd
Life With CD 