As the Civil War was beginning, Colonel James Ripley was the man responsible for arming the troops. He chose to outfit the Union troops with 50-year-old short-range smoothbore rifles that dated to the War of 1812. Now there were better rifles, the more modern long-range Enfield rifles, available, but he claimed they were too expensive. But cost was not the real reason; it was the fact that the Enfield company was based in England, which Ripley still hated fiercely. The Confederacy didn’t hold onto that grudge. They were willing to buy the rifles from England. At the first Battle of Bull Run in July 1861, the Confederates devastated the Union troops and suffered a third fewer casualties because their Enfield rifles could hit targets at 800 yards, compared to the Ripley’s guns, which had a range of only 500 yards. The Union did end up winning the Civil War, but according to some historians, Ripley’s ill-fated gun order made it last two years longe...
Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “ Many are stubborn in pursuit of the path they have chosen; few in pursuit of the goal.” To find success, one must be willing to set one's pride aside to do what is best. That isn’t always easy, especially when we think we are right. But thinking we are right is not the same as being right. Paul was sure he was right when he attacked the church (Acts 26:9). Peter thought he was making the right call when he distanced himself from the Gentile Christians (Galatians 2:12). Diotrephes was sure he was protecting the church (3 rd John 1:9-10). But they were wrong. And sometimes we are as well. If you can’t change a path that isn’t working, it may not be because you are dedicated to the cause but because you are holding on to your pride. Success is about making sure you are right before you dig your heels in. Being so set in your ways that you won’t seek to improve is the pat...