“A friend loves at all time and a brother is born for adversity.”
Proverbs 17:17
Imagine my surprise, in reading recently, to find that Paul Revere was not the lone rider that fateful night of April 18th, 1775, as he made his famous “midnight ride” to warn colonists that the British were on their way. After becoming aware of British plans to arrest the colonial leaders in Lexington and then seize the guns and ammunition they had stored up in Concord, two men had set out to sound the alarm and to hopefully raise a defense. Two men carried with them the identical message; two men traveled just as many miles and through just as many towns as the other. Yet only one of their names has been recorded in our history books and only one of the men has been given credit for the warning that was such a major turning point in the colonists stand against the British.
Paul Revere and William Dawes both set out from Boston late that night but the effects of their rides were vastly different. Those who heard the news from Paul Revere quickly responded, gathering the local militia, beginning preparations, and spreading the news further throughout their towns. But the same was not true of those warned by William Dawes, as history records a very subdued response in the towns Dawes rode through that night. What made the difference? And what can we learn from the midnight rides of Paul Revere and William Dawes?
One history writer tried to sum up the reason for the different responses to the two men by saying this: Paul Revere had far more “personal connections” than William Dawes, in effect saying that Paul Revere built far more relationships with people over the course of his years. Malcolm Gladwell, in his book The Tipping Point, said this about Paul Revere: “He would have known exactly whose door to knock on, who the key people in the town were as he would have met most of them before. And they knew and respected him as well.” Paul Revere’s success had nothing to do with the sound or strength of his voice but everything to do with the place people had in his life.
For Paul Revere, the seeds of success were sown not in the spirited ride on horseback, but in the years of relationship building and in the personal connections he established over the years. Showing an interest in people paid dividends that night as he hurriedly rode from town to town. Taking time to develop friendships paid dividends as he sounded the alarm that the British were coming. Relationships developed over years paid dividends in the dark of the night as those hearing his voice knew that the warning came from someone who cared and could be trusted. What a lesson on the value of building relationships in our lives, and on the importance of making those genuine personal connections with those whose paths our lives cross. People are always the best investment we can make; relationships pay far greater dividends than anything this world offers, and taking the time to make “personal connections” open doors like nothing else can!
God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church
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