CLEOEJACKSONIII.COM
  • My Home Page
  • My Life and Ministry
  • My Ongoing Thoughts
  • My Favorite Bible Verses
  • My Favorite Stories
  • My Favorite Jokes
  • My Favorite Quotations
  • My Favorite Web Links
  • My Contact Info
"Helping Others Communicate"

BIG JOB!

8/17/2017

 
One of the truly unsung heroes of the White House in the twentieth century was Harry S. Truman.  Perhaps this is due to the fact that he sits between, and is largely overshadowed by, his immediate predecessor, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and his immediate successor, Dwight David Eisenhower, two of America’s most beloved Presidents.
 
Truman himself is largely remembered for just two things.  The first is the election victory he miraculously pulled out in 1948 over his Republican opponent, Thomas E. Dewey.  Who among us has not seen the famed picture of Truman’s smiling face as he waves the Chicago Tribune’s headline erroneously declaring “Dewey Defeats Truman”?

The second thing for which Truman is most remembered, of course, is the decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan in order to hasten the end of World War Two.  Historians are divided over this action.  Some see it as unnecessary given the inevitable defeat of Japan. 

Others point to the immense carnage anticipated (with estimates as high as 1.5 to 2 million deaths) if the allies would have had to invade the Japanese home islands with the same conventional methods they had applied while taking back the numerous Pacific islands Japan had conquered at the beginning of the war.

Whether one agrees with Truman’s actions or not, this much is certain:  Truman himself accepted the responsibility for his own actions as president. He kept a sign on his desk that read: “The Buck Stops Here!”

The meaning of this sign is found in the old adage: “passing the buck”.  Truman wanted people to understand that he would not pass the proverbial buck.  If something was his job as president, then he would accept that responsibility, do his job, and accept the consequences, whatever they may prove to be.

And yet, it seems that Truman was not always this way.  He apparently had to grow into the position where he embraced and accepted the responsibilities of leadership.  A good example of this can be seen in the much cited April 27, 1992 article from Moody’s Today in the Word magazine:

Franklin Roosevelt had to work hard to persuade Harry Truman to be his running mate in the 1944 presidential election.

Truman wanted to go to the Senate, but incumbent vice-president Henry Wallace was unpopular with many Democratic leaders.  So Truman was approached, and accepted the job with extreme reluctance.

On April 12, 1945 he was summoned to the White House. There he was shown into Eleanor Roosevelt's sitting room, where she told him that President Roosevelt was dead.

After a moment of stunned silence Truman asked her, "Is there anything I can do for you?"


She shook her head. "Is there anything we can do for you?" she said. "For you're the one in trouble now." 

Perhaps this is the seminal moment when Truman decided to accept the awesome responsibility of the Presidency.  If not, it was certainly the beginning of such a process.  Either way, the point is that Truman quickly had to embrace his destiny.  And to his credit, he did so.

The Bible gives us numerous examples of people who were suddenly thrust into positions of leadership.  Some of them embraced that role and acted decisively; while others waivered and acted indecisively.  In both situations, there were tremendous consequences. 

Take, for instance, the differences on display between Israel’s first King, Saul, and her second king, David. 

From the start, Saul seems reticent to accept the responsibilities of kingship.  He hem haws around, never quite embracing the leadership role he was assigned.  The result is a nation that was both divided and beleaguered. By comparison, young David eagerly accepted the mantle of leadership, stepping out in faith, confronting the enemy, uniting the people of God, and inspiring them to victory and its resultant reward.

Not many of us are called to be Presidents, and even fewer of us to be kings.  Nonetheless, we are all called upon to exert influential leadership from time to time.  This is true whoever you are and whatever role God has assigned to you.  So, whenever your positon calls upon you to make decisions, to act decisively, and to influence others in the process, make the most of it.  You never know how God might intend to use your leadership!


SOURCE: Today in the Word, April 27, 1992. In attempting to track this original resource down, I came to this site:
https://www.todayintheword.org/archives/?searchPhrase=April+27%2C+1992&type=&date.  Apparently the print edition itself is not archived on the Today in the Word website.

Nonetheless, numerous websites cite the above referenced article.  See, for instance: 
http://www.jeremyhouck.com/looking-for-a-leader.html as well as
http://taiwoodukoya.org/desiring-leadership/.

SEE ALSO:  Several good biographies of President Truman are available.  The one I had to read in college, Plain Speaking by Merle Miller, is among the best. Others include David McCullough’s Truman and the appropriately titled Where the Buck Stops: The Personal and Private Writings of Harry S. Truman by President Truman’s own daughter, Margaret Truman.


Comments are closed.

    Cleo E. Jackson, III

    Occasionally I will add
    a few thoughts to my blog. If you find them inspirational, I will be
    honored.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010

    Categories

    All