The temptation of many gifted religious leaders is to aim & work for temporal success, kingdom of their own here and now. The present strong, almost exclusive emphasis upon the positive by some very successful religious entrepreneurs is an example. The writer fears that some of these men will have to see their work shattered and broken by failure & defeat if they are to share that “eternal glory” that Paul writes about. An unknown writer has voiced this viewpoint in the following lines:
While the voice of the world shouts its chorus,
His paean for those who have won;
While the trumpet is sounding triumphant,
And high to the breeze and the sun,
Glad banners are waving, hands clapping,
And hurrying feet thronging
After the laurel-crowned victors,
I stand on the field of defeat
In the shadow with those who are fallen and wounded and dying,
And there chant a requiem low-
Place my hand on their pain-knitted brow,
Breathe a prayer, hold a hand that is helpless,
And whisper, "They only the victory win,
Who have fought the good fight,
And have vanquished the demon that tempts within".
The above is an excerpt from the book given below, a classic written 3 decades ago!
MULLINGSPICE 