Week 38 Day 1

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When to Toot Your Own Horn

Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

Hebrews 12:11

Our hearts are fasten’d to this world

By strong and endless ties;

But every sorrow cuts a string,

And urges us to rise.

“Sound your own horn,” said Lincoln, “for behold, if you sound not your own horn, your horn shall not be sounded.” This lesson seems a bit odd. It sounds like Lincoln was telling his colleague to boast a little, to do a little self-promotion. And that’s not like Lincoln. He was self-tempered, not prone much toward showing off. What Lincoln was really saying is this: If you’re going to be heard, you have to speak. Nobody succeeds by keeping quiet. And nobody else is going to take up your cause and wave your flag. Abraham Lincoln was a quiet man. At the same time, he didn’t waver from making himself heard. He’d get up in front of crowds, at train stations and on street corners, bellowing his case. If you feel like you’re not getting anywhere, maybe you need to speak up. Toot your horn!