It Was Around 1870 When New York City Had One Of ...

It was around 1870 when New York City had one of the most hotly contested mayor’s races in its history. The incumbent was Mayor John Tweed. Everybody called him “Boss Tweed,” and it was a name that suited him well. The time came when he ran for reelection, and Boss Tweed’s political machine began to roll. It represented politics at its very worst. His entire organization was corrupt to the core. But there were a number of committed citizens who decided that they were fed up with this kind of politics and decided to fight city hall. In the beginning they seemed to be making a difference, but as the campaign drug on, the cost of the commitment of time and energy became more than most people were willing to pay. Many of the good people who initially believed in the importance of what they were doing began to drop out. The fight was ugly and many of them did not have the stomach for it. So when the election was held and the results were counted, any hopes for good city government were dashed — Boss Tweed had been reelected. The next day the New York Times ran an editorial and analyzed what had happened. The article summed up the situation with these words: “The good people quit being good before the bad people quit being bad.”

I can’t tell you how many times I have seen that happen. One thing I have noticed is that evil and its followers have a tenacity that is often absent in the followers of good. We give up and give in at the most critical point. And nowhere is this battle won or lost more than in the battleground of prayer. Prayer is difficult. It is a learned behavior. It takes time and effort, so many people give up on prayer — and many times it is before the battle is really over. We quit long before the enemy does. The battle is long, arduous and ugly, and we get worn out and drop out before the battle is done. The problem is that we often give in just before the moment of victory. We give up when we stop expecting to win. We need to pray and live expectantly.