Someone said, “Most folks don’t mind doing what we ought to do when it doesn’t interfere with what we want to do.” Robert E. Lee suggested, “Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more; and you should never do less.”

If you have a job to do, either do it well or leave it undone. Churchill made a very short but powerful speech almost a hundred years ago.

Churchill walked to the lectern and slowly looked over the crowd and said, “Never give up.” He paused again and said, “Never give up.” Some thought he may have forgotten his speech! Again he said, “If you have something that needs to be done, never, never, never quit.”

One of my favorite inspiring stories came out of England many years ago. It was about the Duke of Wellington and his hunting party and a little boy. A little boy was guarding the gate when the Duke and his party approached the gate, demanding it be opened. The boy said, “I’m sorry, sir, but my father sent me to say that you must not hunt on his grounds.”

The Duke smiled and said, “Do you know who I am?” “No, sir,” the boy replied. “I am the Duke of Wellington!” The boy took off his cap to honor the Duke and said to him, “Surely the Duke of Wellington will not ask me to disobey my father’s orders.” The Duke of Wellington slowly took off his hat and said to the lad, “I honor the boy who is faithful to his duty.” The Duke and his party turned and rode away.

Do your duty well and the world will honor you.

Make every day count. Do something for someone else. Phil Perkins wrote “My Daily Wish:”

My daily wish is that we may

See good in those who pass our way;

Find in each a worthy trait

That we should gladly cultivate;

See in each one passing by

The better things that beautify —

A softly spoken word of cheer,

A kindly face, a smile sincere.

I pray each day that we may view

The things that warm one’s heart anew:

The kindly deeds that can’t be bought –

That only from the good are wrought;

A burden lightened here and there,

A brother lifted from despair,

The aged ones freed from distress,

The lame, the sick, brought happiness.

A laugh a day may not keep the doctor away, but it will make you feel good and help you to forget some pain. I like the following story.

As a dutiful husband should, he consented to take three pairs of his wife’s shoes downtown with him to be repaired. Unable to find a sack for them and being in a hurry to catch the next bus, he tucked them under his arm and sallied forth. On the bus an old fellow, a stranger, eyed him and the shoes. With a grin he said, “You’ve got the right idea, mister. Take her shoes with you, and then, by cracky, she can’t gad about.”

Robert V. Ozment is a retired United Methodist minister.