Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1913-10-02
WHEN LEADERS GIVE UP.
The international Sunday School Les
SON for October 5-"Moses Cry For
Help" Numbers III. 433.
(By William T. Ellis.)


On two separate occasions yeter
fay. men who are internationally
i. own as leaders in, Christian work
tcld me Of their mood OF utter dls
enlargement with church folk. One
has resigned his ecclesiasticai posi-
ton and has his face turned toward
the world. The other put IT graph
cally as, touching some letters on his
desk, he said in the light of this sort
of attitude on the part OF Christian
ministers. what is the use? I said to
q group of associates this morning that
come at times to the point where !
say, I give up! I'm through And
then I have to take myself In hand
and hold myself to the work regard
less"
Now these men were Moses down
to date. They are not weaklings easily
frightened by obstacles. Millions OF
nersons know them as leaders and
inspirers or men. Yet the burden Of
responsibility, the lack Of responsive
ness and the pettiness and sordidncss
on the part Of those for whom they
have poured out their lives, have caus-
ed them to cry out In disbursement,
cen as did the leader of the emanci-
peted Tsraelites.
The ricture is a gloomy one. and
We &c not like to draw the curtain
fr--, sefore 1t. We must however,
q his fact about the helpers OF
n,rn that often they grow weary and
h.,~t ei,l< end hopeless, because. In
sr~nd cf cooperation and apprecia-
tn t',cv receive only nagging and
q; i-'--o From men who pioneer
ne~: ec.-,z Of Christian ministry, like
trc~cs whom | have quoted above, to
tn Sunday school teacher who ques.
.t;c-4 he worth.whileness of her work
fc.' a class of boys, the experience Is
ce.nron.
The Privileges Of Leader.
FssThst a leader may expect OF peo-
III, ard what people may expect 81 a
leoder, are practical present ques'
tens which this lesson brings to the
fore.
The fellowship is not always fol-
lowship. The people do not 60 all
the wav with their own chosen lead
ers Perverse. unreasonable, easily
a lighted and panic-stricken. all
this. and more, the leader finds true
o. thu people to whom he has given
his life. Sometimes he will cry out
that he wants to die. even as did
Noses. He can no longer bear his
burden alone: he would give up. 1t
was all mistake to try to lead the
thsnkless mob away from the leeks
ard onions Of Egypt.
Poor. down-hearted old Moses.
thought that he was having singular
esperience; that nobody had ever ex-
rerienced such burdens and ingrati-
t,de as he. Feally, he was but under
gcing the common experience Of lead
ers. This solitary way Of bitterness
is trodden by all the great ones.
There is q thorn. crowned calvary
for all saviors of men. Moses should
have known this, and been comforte.
BY the thought that he was in the good
Fellowship Of worldredeemers.
He was not alone, either God was
with him, and 80 reminded Moses.
After all, he was but Gods under
ling, and the responsibility was with
the head The work was really
Gods; and if he appointed hardship
tc his first lieutenant, that should
matter little to a good soldier. To
doubt Gods purpose or ability would
be disloyalty. b..
Reorganzine the Business.
Really, what allied Moses was that
be had not been handling his work
we'll. He was carrying too much de-
tail His blunder was that of the
modern business man who goes to the
wall because he does not know how
TO delegate responsibility The prin-
ciple, "To every man his work" is
sound business maxim, which Moses
vas not the first or the last to vio-
late, He thought he had to be office
boy. az we'll as general manager.
AS gently as possible. Jehovah point
I'd out to Moses his blunder. It was
ls If the president of great corpora
fcn had called aside the head Of de-
bartment who was ready to resign be-
kause his work did not go WELL and
IND had said to him. "See here, Jones,
toui have been trying to do too much
york yourself, and 1t has got on your
AxYes. What you need is a vacation,