WORKING YOUR WAY UP

Natural Process

AMAN entered a certain recruiting office and said, “I want to join as a soldier.” “But how old are you?” the sergeant asked. “Sixty,” was the man’s reply. “You know quite well that sixty is too old for you to become a soldier.” “All right, if sixty is too old for a soldier, don’t you need any generals?” retorted the man.

If one wants to start a career as a general, one will be hard put to do so. It’s just like a race where one can’t leap straight from the starting point to the finishing line. To succeed in anything, we have to be like the tree, starting from the seed, growing slowly and putting out branches, twigs, leaves and flowers when the appropriate times come around. Similarly, business starts with investing money, not with earning profits. The construction of a house starts with the foundation and not with the roof.

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Not until the individuals of a nation are imbued with a sense of purpose and an understanding of the importance of hard work, honesty, endurance and unity, can measures be taken for the advancement of the nation.

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Congregational matters are very much on a parallel. They begin from the inculcation in individuals of a sense of purpose and an understanding of the importance of hard work, honesty, endurance and unity. Not until the individuals of a nation are imbued with these important ideals to a high degree can measures be taken for the advancement of the cause. If we ignore the importance of preconditioning, our missionary ventures are bound to end in failure. Any attempt to launch a movement without a solid, national infrastructure would be like trying to roof a house without raising its walls. A roof put up in this way is bound to collapse on one’s head. In much the same way, any steps taken before individuals have been properly prepared will inevitably lead to failure and chaos, even death and destruction.