By John McIntosh
The story is told (supposedly true) of a missionary who was sitting at her window when the mail arrived. She opened a letter from home and out fell a crisp ten dollar bill. As she read the note accompanying the money, her eye was caught by the sight of a poorly dressed man on the street below. Thinking the man was probably not very well off, she placed the bill in an envelope upon which she wrote, “Don’t Despair,” and tossed it out the window. The man picked up the envelope, opened it, and looked up at her smiling and tipped his hat.
The next day there was a knock at the door, opening it she found the man from the previous day holding out a handful of cash to her.
“What’s this? I don’t understand,” she said.
“Lady,” he replied, “it’s your cut. ‘Don’t Despair’ paid five to one yesterday.”
Maybe rather than “Don’t Despair” to the question of who you have in mind to replace you someday, you may be betting on the horse, “Don’t Sweat It.” The fact is you and I are closer to the finish line of ministry today than we were a few months ago when we met in this section of the paper. You and I need to think about it. Success without a successor is failure.