Never Give Up!

The Monday Night Football game between the Cowboys and the Bills was one of the most exciting we have seen in a long time. After five turnovers in the first half, the Cowboys trailed by seventeen points. Quarterback Tony Romo, along with the entire team, showed incredible composure in the second half, coming back to score 9 points in the last 20 seconds to win the game. It moved them to a 5-0 record on the season and gave all of us plenty to talk about around the water cooler on Tuesday morning.

Not only was it a tremendous win, but it also demonstrated a great lesson in coming back from failure. Tony Romo in his second season as the Cowboys’ quarterback threw five interceptions, resulting in two Bills’ touchdowns and fumbled away another turnover. Six turnovers in a game is any NFL quarterback’s worst nightmare and could severely impact job security. His performance in the last three minutes of the game, however, demonstrated that Romo could become one of the NFL’s great quarterbacks by maintaining incredible concentration under some of the most strenuous circumstances. Ultimately Romo and the ‘Boys won because they refused to give up.

In October of 1941 the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was asked to speak at the Harrow School where he had attended as a youth. After summarizing the overwhelming threat that Hitler and Nazi Germany posed for Great Britain and the free world, Churchill spoke these words, “Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or small, large or petty--never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.” His iron will and the resolve of the British and American people ultimately prevailed over the Axis threat.

Proverbs 24:17 reminds us, “Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity.” This verse reminds us that failure is a normal part of life. The question is not “Will you fail”, but rather “When will you fail?” We fail at times in our business pursuits, career objectives, financial investments, personal relationships and in our spiritual walk. Sometimes we fail because of bad choices, sometimes due to lack of execution or preparation. Sometimes we fail because we cannot get beyond obstacles that block our path.

My friend in Christ, don’t allow the failures of the past to keep you from tomorrow’s victories. It is time to get up, dust yourself off and get back on that horse. Remember, never, never, never, never give in or give up!

Shoulder to Shoulder,

Gregg

The Lesson in Integrity

For the last twenty years, Dick Knoebel has been the Chief of Police in the small town of Kewaskum, Wisconsin. Last September Chief Knoebel made the national news for writing a ticket to a motorist who drove past a stopped school bus. The ticket resulted in a fine of $235 and an increased insurance premium.

Why did an every day traffic violation make the news? Because the Chief wrote the ticket to himself. He drove past the school bus in his police cruiser with his lights flashing and suddenly realized what he had done. He wrote the ticket to himself and paid the fine. The story surfaced after it showed up in court records and local media reports. Knoebel says he has received 150 congratulatory e-mails from places like Thailand, Russia and New Zealand. Two people offered to send him money to help with the fine, but he turned down the offers.

Dick Knoebel’s actions are a great example of integrity. Someone has defined integrity as what you do when no one else is watching. Integrity implies a consistency with your words and deeds, regardless of the circumstances. Ultimately, integrity goes deeper than your words and deeds, to the core of your being. It is more a matter of who you are, than what you say or do.

Integrity is critical if you are going to honor God in this life. It becomes an internal GPS, sort of a moral compass that guides you through the many temptations which the world throws your way. Without integrity, a man will be loss in the moral relativity that permeates our culture. He will make his choices based on intimidation, greed or blind ambition, rather than the eternal principles of God’s Word.

Proverbs 11:3 reminds us, “The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the crookedness of the treacherous will destroy them.” My brother, I challenge you to be a man of integrity today. Be consistent in what you do and say, that Christ may be honored and you may be blessed.

Shoulder to Shoulder,

Gregg