March 3, 2026

Business by the Book

Nehemiah 4:6 So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.

Having a mind to work gets things done. The people of Nehemiah’s day rebuilt the wall around Jerusalem because they had a mind to work. As any good leader should, Nehemiah shares the credit of this herculean task with the people who actually did the work. So built we the wall… The “we” is the group of people that …had a mind to work.

Having a mind to work means that one’s mind is made up to work, the cost has been counted, the amount of energy to complete the task has been considered, the willful determination has been set, and the mind is ready for the physical work to commence.

Having a mind to work without doing the work is a waste. Working without having a mind to work is ineffective. Having a mind to work and working is very, very productive. Sadly there are many today who do not have a mind to work, and will not work. They depend on someone else to work for them; these never accomplish much in life.

You can mark it down; whether it is a corporation, a small company, a nation, a state, a city, a home, a church, or any other organization of people coming together for a common cause, the success or failure of that organization rests largely with people in that organization having a mind to work. Dr. Bob Smith says often, “Failure cannot cope with persistence,” and I say persistence is every bit as much about having the mind to work as it is in doing the work. Great rewards, both temporal and eternal, await those who have a mind to work and then actually go out and do the work. In closing, let me share a poem I wrote many years ago.

Some dreamers never do

Some doers never dream

The only difference between the two

Is what you do with you!

Dr. William Howe