It’s all about me, right?
I had been down this road several times before. In fact, I use to travel down it every week. This was different. As I looked down the road I was almost in disbelief. There was a long row of work trucks and vans. I had only seen it like this one time before and that was when the economy nearly crashed. They were sitting there for an entirely different reason on this day.
The sales business is a strange business indeed. You meet a variety of different people and companies come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. To last in the sales business you have to learn to work with them all and they all are different. I have found, as a general rule, and there are exceptions, the larger the company is, the harder they are to deal with. Yes, they give you the volume, but it comes at a great cost. They know they give you the volume, so they expect lower prices, a lot lower. They also expect immediate service. This describes the company that sat at the end of the road I described above.
When they decided to start a service division, I was called to represent our company as a sales person. It was a very tough account and we were often hung under the cloud of “if you don’t do exactly what we want, we’ll take our business elsewhere.” We made very little money on the account, but I took one for the team and serviced them the best that I could. When I got moved into a different position, this was one account I was glad to leave behind.
A few days before I sat at the end of the line of trucks, which were parked on side the street that ran down to their shop, the owner asked all the employees to come in. He told them that he was shutting down, to turn in their keys, and they were closed for business starting that day. Now there would also be a bunch of people who would be going home to tell their families that they no longer had jobs. A couple of days later he called all the vendors to his shop. So there was the mighty businessman telling the vendors he didn’t know if they would get all the money they were owed.
Our country has been involved in a great number of wars. Sure they can call them by other names like conflict, police actions, etc. but in my opinion if you raise your weapon in the name of your country, fire it, and someone dies, it’s a war. This war might have been the worst one of them all. It was the Civil War.
Many times prior to the Civil War, states from both the North and the South had threatened to leave the Union. When Andrew Jackson was President, about thirty years before the Civil War, South Carolina threated to leave the Union. Jackson, a former general, threatened to get back up on his horse and personally lead the Union against them if they did. South Carolina relented, at least for a little while. Eventually enough was enough and southern state after southern state did withdraw their membership from the Union. That led to brother fighting and killing his fellow brother.
Abraham Lincoln did not believe a state had the “right” to leave the Union. Once a state joined the Union their membership was permanent. That was his way of thinking. Besides, he loved this country and didn’t believe we should ever be separated. Early in the Civil War, though, it looked like the light of hope that flickered in his mind, might get snuffed out. Even though the Union soldiers far outnumbered their Confederate counterparts, they lost battle after battle. Many in the North began to wonder if it was all worth it. But Lincoln was determined to keep the Union together.
Some might not know this, but he was a prophet or at least that was what the Bible says. He was tall and handsome, too. He really wasn’t born into the right family, which makes his ascent even more amazing. His story of fame is very interesting.
One day some of his father’s donkeys got loose and wandered off. His father sent him out to look for them. He and a servant went out to find the donkeys. They searched and searched for the donkeys, but had no luck finding them. Finally, he told his servant that they should just give up and head back to his father’s house. The servant told him of a man of God, who is also called a seer, who might know where to find them and that they should try that first. He agreed and they headed to the town to find the seer. The seer was told by God that this man was coming.
The seer invited him to eat with him. He told him he knew where his donkeys were and not to be worried about them. The man was very confused. “Why are you treating me so nice? I’m not really anybody. I’m from the smallest tribe and even in that tribe, I’m from the least of those clans,” he probably said. The seer insisted and he agreed to stay.
The next morning the seer sent him on his way. Before he did, though, he anointed his head with oil. He also told him he would hear the Word of God. The Bible goes on to say that God gave the man a new heart. He would climb a hill and come upon a group of prophets and here he would show himself to be a prophet, too. When it happened everyone one was amazed. He was like a totally different person.
On April 9, 1865 General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate troops to the Union’s General Ulysses S. Grant. Lincoln’s nightmare was over and his dream of keeping the Union intact survived. Now Lincoln needed to get to work on the healing process. Five days after Lee’s surrender, Lincoln would be shot while attending a play not far from the White House. He would die the next day. His Vice President, Andrew Johnson, would now be in charge of the healing process.
Andrew Johnson basically had had three goals: speedy restoration of the South (because they never actually “legally” left the union), the common people, not the rich planters, should be given the power of government in the South, and getting elected in his own right as President of the United States. He faced three divided fractions: the Radical Republicans (who felt African-Americans should be given complete rights and thought top Confederates should be punished), Moderate Republicans (who felt African-Americans should not be given rights, but they did believe Southern Democrats shouldn’t be allowed to return to power), and the Northern Democrats (who thought the Confederates should be allowed to return unconditionally and they believed American-Americans should not receive rights).
Johnson became President in April and Congress did not return to Washington until December. Johnson started putting his goals in action. Although he did confer with his Cabinet, or Lincoln’s old Cabinet, and there seemed to be a lot of support in the North for his plan, it doesn’t appear there was much communication with the leadership in Congress. When he issued his amnesty plan to ex-rebels, except property owners of more than $20,000 in value, things started to take an ugly turn. Eventually he would be impeached and he came within one vote of being removed from office. You might say Andrew Johnson was more focused on what he could do rather than finding the best course for the country. Johnson might have overplayed his own importance. Maybe Andrew Johnson had a mild form of arrogance.
The crown rolled down the hill. It was taken to David who would now be king of Israel. Although David would be sad at King Saul’s death, it was probably not a surprise that the one-time promising prophet, who would be the first King of Israel, had met his demise. His spirit had become much more “me” focused rather than God focused. His “internal” wisdom overrode his judgment and his ability to hear God’s wisdom. You might say his downfall was brought on by his own arrogance.
Sometimes we place the rocks we trip over in our own path. Many times that happens when we misjudge our own importance. Very few mourn when arrogance meets its end.
Prayer: Dear Mighty Father, Let each of my mornings start with the reflection in the mirror and a reminder that this person needs to listen to You and realize it is You and Your wisdom that needs to lead the way. Amen.
