Milka Singh is one of the most celebrated athletes in India. He was the first-ever Indian athlete to win a gold medal in the CommonWealth Games at Cardiff in 1958. Dr. Arthur W. Howard was the coach who on his own was present in Cardiff, as coaches could not accompany athletes at that time. Arthur planned his trip home to the US, with a break in England. South African Malcolm Spence was the favourite to win. Arthur gave a strategy sitting near Milka’s catch the whole night: Spence ran first at 350m in normal speed and then accelerated to win. You beat him in the beginning. As you have been trained, run with full energy from the start. Milka in his autobiography mentions how this tactic worked, and the rest is history. (Nitin Sharma, Indian Express 20 June 2021) However, in the biopic of Milka Singh, Dr. Arthur Howard, a Methodist missionary and one of the founders of National Institute of Sports, Patiala is not mentioned. Dr. Arthur Howard served as National coach from 1948 to 1962. Was Arthur simply forgotten or deliberately hidden?
Yes, there are many benefactors who are simply forgotten or deliberately hidden. The small boy’s name who donated his five barley loaves and two fish for Lord Jesus to feed five thousand plus people is not mentioned. (Matthew 14:13-21) The slave girl who was instrumental in the healing of Syrian commander Naaman is also missing. (II Kings 5: 1-14)
Joseph’s contribution in saving Egypt from seven years of famine was deliberately forgotten. A newer generation that did not know Joseph ruthlessly oppressed the children of Israel. (Exodus 1:8; Acts 7:18) “But there was found in it a poor, wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that poor man.” (Ecclesiastes 9:15)
God is not unrighteous or unjust to forget the work of His saints. (Hebrews 6:10) It means, to forget benefactors is unrighteousness. People of God should have a sharp memory of those who blessed them; honour and thank God for the benefactors.
Do I choose to remember and thank God for my benefactors?