[150 words]
Did you know that Abraham Lincoln went into the general store business with another fellow and it failed? Lincoln ended up $1,100 in debt. He could have pleaded divided responsibility and found a legal loophole of escape but that wasn’t Lincoln’s way. Instead, he went to his creditors and promised to pay them every dollar with interest, if they would just give him some time. Then for the next 14 years Lincoln scraped and saved and paid back debts that were not all his. Even when he was a member of congress, he sent part of his salary home to pay off the last remnants of that old general store debt.
He went the extra mile. You know when you’re dishonest you’ll always get caught but when you insist on being honest even though you’ve got to go the extra mile to do it, you will have a clear conscious.
Mark T. Tonkery
Camden Avenue church of Christ
Parkersburg, WV