First occurring over nine hundred years, the little poem "For Want of a Nail" has been handed down in numerous variations over the last millennium. I share it with you here today as a reminder that reminding that what may initially seem to be insignificant acts or omissions can wind up having grave and unforeseen consequences.
For Want of a Nail
For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
According to Wikipedia.com:
This proverb has come down in many variations over the centuries… It describes a situation in which a failure to anticipate or correct some initially small dysfunction leads by successively more critical stages to an egregious outcome.
Such chains of causality are perceived only in hindsight. No one ever lamented, upon seeing his unshod horse, that the kingdom would eventually fall because of it.
As a citizen of the United States of America, I would remind each and every one of my fellow citizens that we have been blessed to be a part of this great nation. We live in a country that guarantees each of us those certain inalienable rights that the writers of the Unanimous Declaration of Independence spoke so eloquently of back in 1776, among them “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”.
These rights are delineated, not only within the Constitution itself, but especially in the “Bill of Rights”, the first ten of the twenty-seven Constitutional amendments.
As Christians, we are to follow Jesus Christ’s admonition in Mark 12:17 and “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” As we do, we remember that Jesus also said (in Luke 12:48): “When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.”
For these reasons, we recognize that we are required to render unto Caesar (that is, the state) certain legal obligations. That is to say, we must obey the law, we must pay our taxes, we must register for the draft and serve if called upon, etc… But Christian citizenship means much more than just meeting legal our obligations. It means meeting our moral obligations as well.
For this reason, I urge each and every one to go out and vote today. True, if you do not vote, you will not be hauled off to jail as would be the case if you failed to obey the law. But you would, in effect, be guilty of failing to live up to you responsibility.
As free citizens in a democracy, you and I have the responsibility to participate in the electoral process, determining who will govern and thereby helping to shape the future of our country.
If you have not yet done so, please go out and vote this day. Please do so based on your personal convictions. And know that in so doing, you will have done your part, be it ever so small, to help save this kingdom of which we have been blessed to be a part.
And when you press that button that says “CAST YOUR VOTE”, you will at least have the satisfaction of knowing that, whatever the outcome, when it comes to fulfilling one of your most basic responsibilities as a Christian citizen, you will have personally “Nailed t!”
SOURCES: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_Want_of_a_Nail.
BIBLE VERSES: http://biblehub.com/.
For Want of a Nail
For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
According to Wikipedia.com:
This proverb has come down in many variations over the centuries… It describes a situation in which a failure to anticipate or correct some initially small dysfunction leads by successively more critical stages to an egregious outcome.
Such chains of causality are perceived only in hindsight. No one ever lamented, upon seeing his unshod horse, that the kingdom would eventually fall because of it.
As a citizen of the United States of America, I would remind each and every one of my fellow citizens that we have been blessed to be a part of this great nation. We live in a country that guarantees each of us those certain inalienable rights that the writers of the Unanimous Declaration of Independence spoke so eloquently of back in 1776, among them “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”.
These rights are delineated, not only within the Constitution itself, but especially in the “Bill of Rights”, the first ten of the twenty-seven Constitutional amendments.
As Christians, we are to follow Jesus Christ’s admonition in Mark 12:17 and “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” As we do, we remember that Jesus also said (in Luke 12:48): “When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.”
For these reasons, we recognize that we are required to render unto Caesar (that is, the state) certain legal obligations. That is to say, we must obey the law, we must pay our taxes, we must register for the draft and serve if called upon, etc… But Christian citizenship means much more than just meeting legal our obligations. It means meeting our moral obligations as well.
For this reason, I urge each and every one to go out and vote today. True, if you do not vote, you will not be hauled off to jail as would be the case if you failed to obey the law. But you would, in effect, be guilty of failing to live up to you responsibility.
As free citizens in a democracy, you and I have the responsibility to participate in the electoral process, determining who will govern and thereby helping to shape the future of our country.
If you have not yet done so, please go out and vote this day. Please do so based on your personal convictions. And know that in so doing, you will have done your part, be it ever so small, to help save this kingdom of which we have been blessed to be a part.
And when you press that button that says “CAST YOUR VOTE”, you will at least have the satisfaction of knowing that, whatever the outcome, when it comes to fulfilling one of your most basic responsibilities as a Christian citizen, you will have personally “Nailed t!”
SOURCES: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_Want_of_a_Nail.
BIBLE VERSES: http://biblehub.com/.