Making Shoes Right

Any task we do as Christians should be done with wholehearted dedication, for God is never satisfied with a halfhearted effort. H. A. Ironside learned this early in life while working for a Christian shoemaker. Young Harry's job was to prepare the leather for soles. He would cut a piece of cowhide to size, soak it in water, and then pound it with a flat-headed hammer until it was hard and dry. This was a wearisome process, and he wished it could be avoided. Harry would often go to another shoeshop nearby to watch his employer's competitor. This man did not pound the leather after it came from the water. Instead, he immediately nailed it onto the shoe he was making. One day Harry approached the shoemaker and said, "I noticed you put the soles on while they are still wet. Are they just as good as if they were pounded?" With a wink and a cynical smile the man replied, "No, but they come back much quicker this way, my boy!"

Young Harry hurried back to his boss and suggested that perhaps they were wasting their time by drying out the leather so carefully. Upon hearing this, his employer took his Bible, read Colossians 3:23 to him, and said, "Harry, I do not make shoes just for the money. I'm doing it for the glory of God. If at the judgment seat of Christ I should have to view every shoe I've ever made, I don't want to hear the Lord say, &ls;Dan, that was a poor job. You didn't do your best.' I want to see His smile and hear, &ls;Well done, good and faithful servant!'" It was a lesson in practical Christian ethics that Ironside never forgot! - H.G.B.

In all the daily tasks we do,Bible helps us clearly seeThat if the Work is good and true,We're living for eternity.

D.J.D.

In God's eyes it is a great thing to do a little thing well.