Talk about a Wrong Assessment!

Shortly after the President gave a short speech, the Chicago Times reported on the speech with this assessment: "The cheek of every American must tingle with shame as he reads the silly, flat and dishwatery utterances of the man who has to be pointed out to intelligent foreigners as the President of the United States."  The London Times reported on the same speech by saying, “The ceremony was rendered ludicrous by some of the sallies of that poor President. Anything more dull and commonplace it would not be easy to produce.” Finally, the Harrisburg Patriot and Union weighed it with its evaluation of the President's remarks by saying, "we pass over the silly remarks of the President: for the credit of the nation we are willing that the veil of oblivion shall be dropped over them and that they shall no more be repeated or thought of.”

The President who gave this speech was none other than Abraham Lincoln. And the speech was The Gettysburg Address. Many people don't realize that President Lincoln was not the main speaker at the event that day (the event was the public dedication of a cemetery built to bury the Union dead who died in the battle of Gettysburg). That honor went to a man by the name of Edward Everett, one of the era's greatest orators. Everett spoke for two hours. Lincoln's "Dedicatory Remarks" (the label given them in the ceremony's program) lasted two minutes. But I would challenge any of you to recall from memory one phrase from Everett's marathon speech. On the other hand, I would guess that many of you could either recall a portion of Lincoln's ten sentence address - or would at the very least recognize if you heard it being read. It has indeed reached the status of one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) speeches ever given in America's two plus centuries of existence. BOY did those newspapers ever get it wrong!

Now some of the papers who ridiculed Lincoln's remarks did so due to political leanings. Others simply thought the speech was sub par. But whatever the reason - many papers missed seeing the address for what it truly was - a truly great speech. Reminds me of how so many people miss the Bible for what it truly is ... a truly great book. With so many in our world offering advice, I want to go on public record (again!) and say that there is no better advice to be had on how to make life work than the Bible! In its pages God gives us "everything pertaining to life and godliness!" (2 Peter 1:3).

Have you read your Bible lately?

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj