Getting at the Gist of It.
By Examiner
THE man that can do this is the successful man. The young man that sets out in his career with the determination to do it has the secret of success in his possession. No matter what the question that comes up, to get at the gist of it before acting is almost to insure that the action will be prudent, wise, safe, and successful. Take a general. Napoleon was a wonder among commanders, because he grasped the situation instantly and always. As if by intuition, he saw straight to the point of the problem. Difficulties were nothing to him. What seemed insurmountable to his subordinates had been surmounted by his mental sight; while they were looking from the outside, he was looking from the central point, and had in mind every movement and maneuver. He might be disappointed, but he could not be surprised. All the possibilities and probabilities had entered into his calculation, and what appeared to be his brilliant dashes were, in fact, the result of his grasp of details before a single step was taken. Take a business man. Cornelius Vanderbilt made a great fortune, because he got at the gist of the transportation needs and possibilities of the country. Where other men were afraid to venture through failure to grasp the great problem of the nation's development, and the facilities that such development must inevitably demand, he saw from the central point, and acted on what he saw. So a Stewart got at the gist of successful trade, in skillful buying, fair profits, strictly honest representation of goods, a complete assortment, and courteous attention. Through his grasp of the principles that should govern trade, added to his great sagacity in judging what would sell and what would not, he built up a mercantile house without an equal in the world. Wherever the successful men are found in any of the large lines of enterprise or traffic, it will be found also that they are the men who go straight to the point of whatever is proposed. Take a preacher. Paul got at the gist of the gospel he was to preach,—"Christ and him crucified." See what a grasp of his work is indicated in his words, "I am become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some." The great preachers since Paul, great in the service of God and the saving of souls as his instruments, are the men who were like Paul in getting at, and putting forth, the pith and point of the gospel of salvation,—the men who have seen from that center which is Christ, and worked always from that toward souls. Every preacher who would succeed in his high calling must first make sure that for himself he has got at the gist of divine truth and his own work in its behalf. It is not those who waste themselves in running along the wavering and uncertain lines of a "new theology" or a modern theory, and who are ever striving after something, but never getting at the gist of the truth, that make the truly successful workers in the ministry. He who is rooted and grounded in the faith once for all delivered to the saints, and who brings his message from a mind that has grasped the needs of men and a heart that has been warmed by nearness to the Saviour of men, is the true and successful teacher and preacher and guide. This is the great thing—to get at the gist of Christianity as a faith working itself out in a life. Every Christian should seek earnestly and prayerfully such a comprehension of the Divine will and purpose as shall lead to intelligent and consecrated action. And it is important to bear in mind that it is not the size of the circle of opportunities and means that is God's gauge. For that the worker need not care. His part is simply to get in the center of his own circle, large or small as it may look to human eyes, and there work. The circle will enlarge in proportion to the capacity and faithfulness of the worker. The Christian who has by the Holy Spirit's illumination got at the gist of the gospel, and whose will it is unswervingly to follow that light in action, will be the living and giving Christian, whose means and energies will alike be spent for the spread among men of the saving knowledge contained in that gospel. What the religious societies need, what the churches need, what the pastors and individual members of the churches need, next to love for, and loyalty to, Christ, is to make sure of getting at the gist of the great and all-important work God has given them to do. Were this done, how many damaging mistakes would be avoided, and how many glorious successes would be won.