Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of The United Kingdom from 1979-1990, died on Monday, April 8, 2013. She had the nick name of The Iron Lady, which she received from The Soviets. “After she gave a hard-line speech in 1976, the Soviet press gave her a sobriquet [nickname] of which she was proud: the Iron Lady.” According to some reports she “reshaped almost every aspect of British politics” and helped to end The Cold War. No doubt the title was enhanced by this, “The Iron Lady showed her mettle again and again, wrenching Britain, often brutally, out of a malaise and sense of all-encompassing failure that had blighted it for much of the era after the end of World War II.
This meant not only facing down opponents but also critics in her own party, who ran scared as the strong economic medicine she prescribed sickened swaths of voters. ‘To those waiting with bated breath for that favorite media catchphrase, the U-turn, I have only one thing to say,’ she declared at the 1980 Conservative Party conference. ‘You turn if you want to. The lady’s not for turning.’’’ On being a woman in politics she said, “In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman.” Also, “It may be the cock that crows, but it is the hen that lays the eggs.” On the Falklands War she said, “Defeat? I do not recognize the meaning of the word.”
Jesus said, “…For the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light” (Lk. 16:8). Perhaps there are things we can learn from The Iron Lady. Two things stand out:
ONE, SHE BELIEVED IN WHAT SHE THOUGHT WAS RIGHT AND STOOD FOR IT. Do we not need that kind of person today in our society and in the church? The Apostles were men who stood firm on what was right. Remember when they were told not to preach in the name of Jesus? Their reply was, “For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). They were willing to face death rather than be cowed by the magistrates. We must stand for what is right. Paul’s instructions to the Ephesians were, “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Eph. 6:11).
The world is asking for tolerance while the Bible seeks conviction and firmness. The Christian is not going to be liked by a large segment of society if we stand for the principles laid out for us in The New Testament.
TWO SHE DID NOT ALLOW DEFEAT TO BE A PART OF HER VOCABULARY. The goal of the devil is to defeat you. Satan tried it with Christ in the temptations recorded in Matthew four. Jesus replied each time, “It is written…” (Mt. 4:4, 7, 10). We must stand on what is right and not entertain the concept of defeat. Satan is the one who will be defeated.
Larry