If you're not familiar with the story, it is about said salesman coming into a small town in Iowa in the early 20th century claiming to be able to start a boys marching band--as long as the townsfolk are willing to pay for the instruments, uniforms and instruction books. He manages to pull the whole town to his side with very few exceptions. When he is found out as a crook, the townspeople have to ask themselves if they are better off with him having come to town or not. After all, the bickering members of the schoolboard are now an inseparable barbershop quartet, the gossipping ladies are now seeing others in a positive light and have started a dance troupe, the young troublemaker has become an enterprising salesman and inventor, the shy boy afraid to talk because of his speach impediment is now talking up a storm, and the woman who thought she could never love has now fallen deeply into it. Even the swindler himself has a change of heart.
Okay, it sounds corny, and maybe it is, but it is also very entertaining--like a Frank Capra film (Think It's A Wonderful Life or Mr. Smith Goes to Washington).
It also got me thinking about how the devil tries to swindle us. He is crafty, deceptive, and sure can trick us if we're not careful. But, no matter what kind of a tricky snare he pulls us into, God can work all of it for our good. To paraphrase the writer St. John of the Cross, we can fall into a dark night of the soul only to come out more devoted to Jesus on the other side. It really is a beautiful thing that even the schemes of the devil can be thwarted so easily. Not by us, of course, but by the Lover of our soul. It makes the devil look pretty darn weak and powerless in light of the power of God.
So, when you find yourself tangled up in knots, know that God will come to your cry. It may not be the outcome you would most like, but it will surely be for the best (which reminds me of a song from another musical--can you name it?).
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