Climbing the ladder a roll of the dice
Climbing the ladder a roll of the dice
23 October 2022
Photo: VD Photography
How successful are you? Are you steadily climbing the ladder of success, one rung at a time? Or, like most of us, does life seem more like a real game of Snakes & Ladders where just when we think we’re making progress we land on a snake, and we’re back where we started? Or worse.
Energetic contestants climb the greasy pole at the Marymass Festival.
Growing up in Scotland, we would sometimes attend the Marymass Festival in Irvine, Ayrshire where in addition to fairground rides and horse races there was the challenge to climb the ‘greasy pole’. The pole could have been up to 30 feet high, and the aim was for contestants to reach the top and claim the prize of a side of ham.
Each person who had a go had their own tactics, including one who filled his pockets with sand to use to get more traction. Whilst many competed on their own, some made it a team game, progressing by standing on the shoulders of the one below. That way of succeeding in life is sometimes criticised, but if all are happy to play their part to gain success for the team, is that really a bad thing?
The climbing of a greasy pole is used as a metaphor for the ‘difficulty in reaching the top of one’s career’. After becoming Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1868, Benjamin Disraeli used the phrase, “I have climbed to the top of the greasy pole.”
Interestingly, when the prophet Samuel was looking for a king to replace Saul, he made the mistake of judging possible candidates by how they looked. But God corrected him, saying, “I do not judge as man judges. Man looks at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7 GNB).
So, although God wants you to do well, he doesn’t care whether or not you’re successful in your career, business or sport. No, he’s more interested in your heart: do you love him and accept Jesus as your Saviour? If so, you’ve no need to worry about getting to the top of the greasy pole.
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