8-31-2022
Cut the Rope
In 1853, America hosted its first world’s fair in New York City. The organizers built a beautiful exhibition hall called the Crystal Palace. This is where the latest and greatest inventions were showcased. This is also where a man named Elisha Otis pulled off one of the most remark-able stunts in the history of the world’s fair. Otis was the inventor of the safety elevator brake, but he was having a hard time selling his idea to safety-first skeptics. It was time to go big or go home. He stood on an elevator platform hoisted high enough for everybody in the exhibition hall to see him. Then Otis, who had positioned an axman above the elevator, cued him to cut the rope!
The elevator fell—a few feet. The crowd let out a collective gasp. And Elisha Otis pronounced, “All safe, ladies and gentlemen. All safe.”
I know – cutting the rope doesn’t seem safe. Can I tell you what’s not safe? Playing it safe! In fact, the greatest risk is taking no risks. Cutting the rope is about taking calculated risks. When I say “calculated,” I’m talking about a risk-reward ratio. I’m not advocating blind leaps. Keep both eyes wide open, but you’d better not focus on the wind and waves. The only way to walk on water is to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus! Well, you have to get out of the boat too!
When Elisha Otis pulled off this unforgettable sales pitch, there were only a few buildings in New York City taller than five floors. Why? No one wanted to climb the stairs! It was next to impossible to rent top-floor real estate. Then in 1854, Otis installed an elevator in a building on Broadway, and the rest is history.
By 1890, there were ten buildings taller than ten stories. By 1900, there were sixty-five buildings taller than twenty stories. And by 1908, there were 538 buildings in New York City that qualified as skyscrapers, including the famous Flatiron Building between Broadway and Fifth Avenue. More and more buildings got taller and taller, and something else happened. Higher floors started producing higher revenues! As long as you didn’t have to climb the stairs, everyone wanted a room with a view.
Elisha Otis had turned the world upside down. He didn’t just invent the safety elevator brake; he made the modern skyscraper possible!
You’re probably familiar with a verse of Scripture found in the New Testament book of John. These are the words of Jesus that John recorded for us:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” ~Jesus
My favorite translation of that verse reads this way:
“For God so loved the world that He refused to play it safe…..”
God went all in by giving His Son, Jesus, to die on a cross in payment for my sins and yours. Anything less wouldn’t do. The payment for sin required the best, and Jesus was the best – the only price that could possibly be paid. God went all in and “cut the rope”, so to speak.
At last count, New York City has fifty-eight thousand elevators. Those elevators make eleven billion trips every year. And that’s just New York City! According to the Otis Elevator Company, the equivalent of the world’s population rides on their products every three days. All because Elisha Otis had the courage to cut the rope!
If you want to imagine incredible tomorrows, you’ve got to cut the rope. It’s scary, especially if you’re afraid of heights. But anything less is maintaining the status quo. You will experience a few falls, a few fails. That’s for certain. But cutting the rope is the way we open the door to the dreams God has given us.
So hey, cut the rope!