The Politician Who Almost Became a Monk
In 1785, William Wilberforce was a 25-year-old Member of Parliament with money, connections, and a reputation as one of the finest speakers in the House of Commons. He was also on the verge of leaving politics entirely to enter the ministry.
His friend John Newton -- the former slave trader who wrote Amazing Grace -- talked him out of it. "God has raised you up for the good of the nation," Newton told him. Wilberforce decided to stay in Parliament. Not for power, but for a cause.
Forty-Six Years of Service
Wilberforce introduced his first bill to abolish the slave trade in 1789. It was defeated. He introduced it again. Defeated. He introduced it every year for nearly two decades. Defeated every time.
He was mocked, threatened, and told he was destroying the British economy. Slave traders hired lobbyists to discredit him. He developed chronic health problems and became addicted to opium prescribed for his pain. His colleagues abandoned him.
He kept going.
In 1807, the Slave Trade Act finally passed. Britain abolished the slave trade. But Wilberforce was not finished. He continued fighting for the complete emancipation of all enslaved people in the British Empire.
The Day He Died
On July 26, 1833, Parliament passed the Slavery Abolition Act, freeing 800,000 enslaved people across the British Empire. Wilberforce, bedridden and nearly blind, received the news three days before he died on July 29.
He had spent 46 years serving a cause larger than himself. He never saw immediate results. He endured decades of failure. But he never stopped.
What This Means for You
Service is not always rewarded quickly. Wilberforce waited 46 years. The measure of faithfulness is not whether you see results but whether you refuse to stop. God does not guarantee efficiency. He guarantees that the work matters.
