Skip to main content

Was It That Great?

  We‘ve all heard the phrase before “the greatest thing since sliced bread” but as it turns out this greatest thing didn’t start out so great.

  Otto Rohwedder invented the first bread slicing machine (built to slice bread by the loaf).  His prototype and blueprints went up in smoke in a fire in 1917. For the next several years he perfected the design and by 1927 it worked perfectly.

Expect no one wanted it.

  A lot of bakers were skeptical, fearing the pre-sliced bread would fall apart and grow stale too fast.  They didn’t think people would much care if their bread was sliced. In 1928 only one company had bought his device.

  Luckily for him and us, the marketing folks stepped began promoting the product. By 1933, American bakeries were selling more sliced than unsliced bread loaves. It wasn’t that the idea wasn’t sound, people just had to be convinced.

  Sometimes good ideas need promoters, People who can help others see what they may not. Folks with the foresight to see improvements and are willing to go to the effort to bring others along.

Maybe you have a gift for just that. The church needs you. Those that encourage and advocate. Those the let their enthusiasm spill over to everyone they encounter. Those that don’t reinvent but reinvigorate by promotion. Who help spread the gospel by letting everyone know how wonderful it is.

You could help spread the greatest thing ever!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Gift You Give Yourself

    I always hated buying gifts for my Mom. If I got her something like a new set of pans, it was like saying “Here’s something you can use to go make me something to eat”. A gift for her was seemingly a gift for me.   There are however gifts you give that benefit you more than the receiver. For example, forgiveness. When you give it, you are giving it to yourself as much as you are giving it to them. Jesus said that when we forgive others it means God is forgiving us our wrongs (Matthew 6:14-15).  I once read: “ Heaven is where everyone's forgiven. Hell is where nobody's forgiven.  So, when we forgive we pull heaven down into our lives.  When we withhold forgiveness, we pull hell up into our lives ” Give yourself something nice today, Forgive.
Post a Comment
Read more

Desire

  Is it wrong to want something? I guess it depends on what we want.   The Greek language had a word ‘ orego ’ that meant “to stretch oneself out in order to touch or grasp something, often used metaphorically to denote a strong desire or aspiration for something”. Paul uses this word in 1st Timothy as a good thing (to be an elder 3:1) and a bad thing (longing for money 6:10).   Our desires oftentimes define who we are. They motivate us to action. They are the focus of our minds and actions.  And they can be both good and bad.  Sometimes we want something better and we run over people to get it. Sometimes, we want something better so we will strive to improve ourselves.  Sometimes we see people with nothing they want and we envy them. Other people will see with no desire and we pity them.  We need to desire good things. Be willing to work to get them. Care enough to try.  We need to not desire bad things. Be willing to forgo o...
Post a Comment
Read more

Until Midnight

    In Acts 20, there is the tragicomic event surrounding a young man by the name of Eutychus. He did what a lot of folks before and after him did, he fell asleep during a sermon. Unfortunately, he was setting in in the third story window at the time. So instead of nodding off and hitting the pew in front of him, he fell to his death. The good news was the apostle Paul was delivering the sermon and had the ability to bring him back.       I don’t know, however, if we can judge Eutychus too harshly. The sermon had gone on till midnight. Paul wouldn’t finish it up till daybreak. That’s a long lesson. I know some folks that might want to jump out of a window if I had a lesson that long, yet these Christians wanted to be there to hear Paul.   Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pushing for all night sermons but I think we might need to adopt these folks' dedication. They knew that Paul was only in town for a limited time only and they were determined to ...
Post a Comment
Read more