Some people complain because God put thorns on roses,
while others praise Him for putting roses among the thorns."
I do not know to whom we should give credit for the quotation. I do know there are a multitude of no-sayers dedicated to getting us focused on the thorns. And it escalates at election time. The no-sayers willingly tell you why you can't: nobody has done it before, what makes you think you can, they always crush the little guy, things are really bad, it is only going to get worse, on and on. True, a lot of thorns are out there, but how can we become over comers if we have nothing to overcome?
In 1940, the Great Depression was ending and prosperity returning. Society, however, remained in a funk. The depression left many focusing on the thorns. Movie attendees embraced John Ford's somber depression saga, "The Grapes of Wrath." Readers flocked to book stores to purchase Steinbeck's award winning but dispiriting Of Mice and Men—and America entered the Second World War.
When the war ended most previously unemployed were working, millions of women and young people for the first time. Peace and better times returned. A wave of prosperity washed across our nation, farmers' incomes tripled, wages increased, businesses flourished. The future looked hopeful. People began to concentrate on the roses. America's top song in 1944, "Accentuate the Positive." Some problems remained, and each decade since brought its own problems. But, as Abraham Lincoln said, "...most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be."
It takes, however, more than making up our mind to be happy. We need to develop that inner joy. Joy not controlled by circumstances or election outcomes, but by our faith in a loving God who takes a hand in our daily lives. Then maintain a positive attitude.
Keeping a positive attitude does not mean we pretend thorns do not exist. They do. But in both our personal and public life, we need to overcome the negative and accentuate the positive—concentrate on the solution and not the problem.
How long may it take to reverse America’s negative direction? William Wilberforce was twenty when he became a candidate in his area’s parliamentary election. An outspoken voice for Christ centered justice, he made his first speech against the slave trade in1789 and then lead the anti-slave movement in the House of Commons. Church hierarchy, powerful government leaders, and wealthy business interests violently opposed him. It took Wilberforce more than 30 years of political action and dedicated prayer to end slavery. He changed history. So can we.
Through the political process you can influence the system: replace a judge, change a school director, elect a legislator. Through prayer you can change the world. It is up to you.
__________ Michael E. Odell
"Right is right, even if nobody does it. Wrong is wrong, even if everybody is wrong about it."
____ G. K. Chesterton
