CENTRAL VIEW for Monday, March 23, 2020

Great leaders: Unlikely starts

In times of crisis, the Almighty has a record of choosing some very unlikely individuals to set things right. Some of them had very shaky starts in life. Others, born in comfort and presumably not interested in public service have served rather well.

One little boy stuttered quite badly and, when he did speak, he spoke with a lisp. His British father died of syphilis. His American mother slept around with a lot of wealthy men. Mostly, his mother and father ignored him. If he ever felt love, it came from the woman his parents hired to look after him. His teachers thought he was a dunce. He did learn French; however, his accent was so atrocious the French begged him to shut up. He spent most of his growing up years alone. He found solace in reading the great works of English literature. But, poor as his circumstances were, God gave him the gift of an almost perfect photographic memory. If he liked a poem or some great prose, it stayed with him throughout life. It wasn’t until he was old enough to be in the Royal Cavalry that his mother took any notice of him. To make matters worse, he became a border-line alcoholic.

When God could see Israel needed a better king. He sent the Prophet Samuel on a talent hunt. Samuel asked Jesse to show him his eight sons. Reluctantly, David, the family sheep herder, was called in. But Samuel knew King talent when he saw it. Samuel anointed David to be king. But for a later date in history.

Frank was born into a wealthy family. He even had a famous 5th cousin who inspired Frank to think he might become president some day. But Frank came down with polio, putting Frank in a wheel chair for the rest of his life.

Another boy was born in a log cabin out on the western frontier. He grew up reading the Bible by candle light. When he did get some schooling, he had to walk miles and miles to get to school and back. His life of chopping logs and building cabins was hard. But it made him very strong. Although not thought of as an intellectual, he took an interest in the law and became a pretty good country lawyer, representing poor people as were most of the people out west.

When Western Civilization was about to be crushed by Adolf Hitler, the boy with the lisp and a seriously dysfunctional family had grown up to be Winston Churchill.

When Israel was about to be overrun by the Philistines (AKA today’s Palestinians), David, the lowly sheep herder, slew Goliath and became one of Israel’s greatest kings.

Abe, with the rustic, log-cabin start, rose to save the United States from being split asunder and freed the slaves.

During the Great Depression, it was the cripple, Franklin Roosevelt, who stood up and led America through an almost overwhelming financial crisis and then went on to lead the U.S. and its allies to victory in World War II.

God works in mysterious ways. Let’s see what He does this time.

©2020. William Hamilton.

William Hamilton is a laureate of the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame, the Nebraska Aviation Hall of Fame, the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame, and the Oklahoma University Army ROTC Wall of Fame. Dr. Hamilton’s latest book: Formula for Failure in Vietnam: The Folly of Limited Warfare can be ordered toll free at: (800) 253-2187 Or, go to Amazon.com.

Dr. Hamilton can be contacted at:

Email: william@central-view.com