REFLECTIONS
the Wild Goose
2 February 2013
In the not too distant past I was moved with compassion for a man I hardly knew that had reached out for help on his own initiative for an alcohol addiction problem. My heart went out to him and I ended up playing the good samaritan:
25And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" 26And He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?" 27And he answered, "YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." 28And He said to him, "You have answered correctly; DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE." 29But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"The Good Samaritan
30Jesus replied and said, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. 31"And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32"Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33"But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, 34and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35"On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.' 36"Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?" 37And he said, "The one who showed mercy toward him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same."Luke 10:25-37
Wow! What a learning experience.
If I had known the depth of this man's mental illness that went along with his alcohol addiction, I probably would have crossed the road to the other side like the majority did in the story of the good samaritan.
Attempting to help this man was like being on a wild goose chase. I started thinking of him as the wild goose and my efforts: quite possibly a fools errand with all of his getting tossed in and out of jail and treatment facilities. The day I called the county sheriff to request that he allow this man to get out of jail during the day time so we could fellowship while allowing me to return him back to jail for the night, and having the sheriff reject my request caused me to feel like I was way out on the end of a high limb. I knew I was out on that limb for Jesus though. So if my efforts met with disaster and I crashed to the ground below, it was my Lord's business and not my concern.
I had been a wild goose once. Jesus was merciful and sent a laborer into the vineyard where my wild vine grew. The actions of that faithful servant ended up altering my life for the better beyond my wildest imaginations. Now it was my turn to labor in a vineyard where a wild vine grew. Now that I can see miraculous results for the better from the Lord using my efforts to do a work in this man's life, I am so glad I did not know the extent of his mental illness before putting my hand to the plow. Thank You Jesus for this wild goose you have allowed me the privilege to work with and to see good fruit come from my efforts that You have directed.
19Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness."
20Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. 21Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. 22Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.2 Timothy 2:19-22
~~~~FSPR~~~~
~the Wild Goose~
The Way It Ought To Be!
27 January 2013
I believe in providing the benefit of the doubt until the doubt is removed. I am a Vietnam Era veteran and have long supported the military even when brothers in the Lord spoke harshly against the military. Jesus had ample opportunity to speak harshly against the military directly to military men of importance, i.e. Matthew 8:5-13
5And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, 6and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented." 7Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him." 8But the centurion said, "Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9"For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes, and to another, 'Come!' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it." 10Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, "Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. 11"I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; 12but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 13And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed that very moment.
I have found no examples of where Jesus spoke harshly to military men about their service. In Luke 10:14 Jesus was even asked directly by soldiers what they should do:
Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, "And what about us, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages."
Jesus did not tell the soldiers that being a soldier was wicked and that they needed to get out of the service. Now soldiers can do wicked things such as obeying an illegal order, but simply serving in the military was not and is not condemned by Jesus.
So, as soldiers with good intentions we trust that those in authority above us also have good intentions and will not use us maliciously for evil, nor will they cause us to become involved in any unjust wars. Some of us may have child like trust, and then some of us may have become bitterly disillusioned by what we have personally experienced.
The Charge of the Light Brigade
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death,
Rode the six hundred.
'Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns' he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
'Forward, the Light Brigade!'
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho'(though) the soldiers knew
Some one had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.
Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turned in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel'd from the sabre-stroke
Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!
—Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Regrettably in our fallen world misfortune happens all too often. My question is, "Was there malice involved?" Surely incompetence needs to be dealt with when identified, but malice is especially wicked and inexcusable. (Can you say, "Fast and Furious"?) Wrong motives lie somewhere in-between incompetence and malice; quite possibly containing a certain amount of both.
So, when our leaders send us off to war I like to give them the benefit of the doubt that their intentions are honorable and good, until the doubt is conclusively removed. George W. Bush is a favorite to be demonized over the Iraqi war. Failing to have an exit strategy was probably due to incompetence hinging on lack of experience. Sending us over there in the first place may have been caused by wrong motives due to pressure from the military industrial complex President Eisenhower warned us about in his farewell address given on 17 January 1961. In any case there was enough bluster even from the Democrats about Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction that George W. Bush could have easily been damned if he sent us to war with Iraq and damned if he didn't. Of course we all now know that he has been pretty solidly damned for sending us.
"A Song of Ascents, of David. O LORD, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty; Nor do I involve myself in great matters, Or in things too difficult for me." Psalm 131:1
Ideally a properly functioning society has multiple tiers of government. At the foundational level is the family. A complete, healthy, and sound family consists of its core component: a properly married as in the eyes of God and man husband and wife. Children are a valued and cherished addition to healthy families. The apostle Paul gives a strong admonition to those who fail to provide for their families in 1 Timothy 5:8
"But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."
What involves proper provisions may be subject to debate, but food, clothing, and shelter are indisputably at its core with the ability to adequately protect them from harm being intuitively understood.
Protection involves keeping them safe from both outside and internal forces. Outside bandits may want to loot them or worse, while members may need to be disciplined when their behavior is either disruptive to smooth running of the family element or poses harm to themselves or others, i.e. a toddler may show too much interest in a pond and need admonishing or more to keep them from wondering off and drowning. Or, a maturing male may start to display harmful attitudes that need to be nipped in the bud. If a word of admonishment isn't sufficient, they may need to be taken behind the barn for a more firm experience of how the world works before his behavior can harm the family.
Trust is once again counted on here so that abuse does not occur and the discipline is administered appropriately. Once it is clear that someone is abusive, they themselves may need that trip behind the barn so as to experience a correction to their behavior. The problem comes in with who is to judge abuse from loving discipline? And now in our so called modern society, for many reasons a child including young adults may not receive necessary loving discipline at crucial times for a multitude of reasons only to end up incarcerated for years by the larger community because of something that could have been corrected never was.
"Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him." Proverbs 13:24
Okay, how many of you all thought it was; "spare the rod, spoil the child"? If anyone can show me where that is located in the bible, I'd like to see it along with where Paul fell off his horse during his Damascus Road experience. Amazing the things we hear and never close the gap on our facts. . .;-( yeah, I know, it takes time and effort. Keep your swords polished and sharp!
After the core family unit, a mother and father with their offspring, we have the extended family. Typically relatives compose the primary extended family, but then those who make up a community can also be considered members of an extended family. A community can be comprised of many things; typically a town, city, state, and country. Atypically, gangs, cults, denominations, behaviors, churches, or anything that provides a shared identity can and are considered a community. In our present age the LGBT community comprises one of the most powerful and closely knit communities since God destroyed the world with the great flood. Its members worship the tie that binds them together in a powerful way.
The extended family comes into play when providing for adequate protection from harm, since there is strength in numbers. Organized communities typically have official or de facto protocols to handle different situations. In America we have our court system. It is generally better to follow the law when you have a grievance than to take the law into your own hands. Taking the law into your own hands may get you satisfaction and possibly justice according to your perspective, but then you may also find yourself facing the justice of a higher community that ends up greatly restricting your freedoms.
Considering a city or a town as an extended family we have a city council that looks after the well being of the community. They pass ordinances designed to protect the community as a whole regulating the price of city supplied utilities and other things. There may be building codes and zoning ordinances. Should any given person may dislike something their city does, they can get involved with city government by participating in city council meetings to running for some city ordained office with hopes of making changes, or they can vote with their feet and move. Taken to the next level is county government, and then state government followed by national government. After national government we may have a group of nations bound together for some purpose such as NATO or the United Nations. The United Nations comes real close to world governance. With any level of governance you may not like what they restrict, e.g. It should be your right to discipline your child as you see fit, or educate them as you deem apropriate. It should be your right to stack up as many junk cars on your neighborhood property as you desire. It should be your right to operate your sewer on your property as you desire. Unfortunately, what we may personally want to do may adversely affect others in a negative way. i.e letting raw sewer run out on the ground may spread a nauseous smell not to mention some horrible diseases. God no doubt caused human excrement to stink for a reason, otherwise all the cavemen's caves would have been full of the stuff like bat guano. Could you imagine your living room or dining room being covered with the stuff? How about a friend coming over and dropping trou in the middle of the parlor when nature calls and let it rip? Now, he may like to do that in his own house which might be his own business, but should he try it in your house he has definitely gone beyond the pale. Sorry for being graphic, but maybe you get the point.
Problems arise when there are conflicting interests and suitable compromises cannot be found. Hopefully there are agreeable methods of resolutions. Historically things escalate until a matter is resolved. (This is why nations maintain powerful armies when they can.) Typically it is much better for neighbors to agree on a boundary resolution before going to court. But, if they cannot agree the court can decide and usually that settles it with the one who can factually express their case the best winning.
No doubt the bible despises false witnesses because of the harm they do to justice being properly applied. No doubt the bible hates adultery because of the destruction it wreaks on the family. Do you deny that? Just tell your young bride after the honeymoon or birth of that first baby that you were born an adulterer and that is just the way you are, and you still love her but you have to go out for a bit to indulge your adulterous needs; and see how far that gets your young family.
So it is nice to be able to trust our parents to look out for our best interests, and likewise our city council, our county representatives, and our state reps, followed by our national representatives, senators, and presidents. To trust them like a child is very nice when they can be counted on. But when they let us down by causing us to suffer harm that could have been prevented, the disdain can be particularly powerful, e.g the preacher seduces your mamma and causes your family to fall apart; the coach molests your little brother and gives him bad proclivities that eventually causes him to die from AIDS, the government sends your son to fight a useless and unjust war and he is now paralyzed for the rest of his life; a home invader rapes your wife and daughters in front of you before mercilessly killing them in the most horrific way just because The Powers That Be wanted to save just one child after the Sandy Hook massacre and deprived you of your 2nd Amendment rights to defend yourself and your family by their foolish solution. "When seconds count, cops are only minutes away!" I hate to end on a cliche, but the truth hurts and the way it ought to be isn't as it currently is!
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.
. . .and, more than that:
Dearest God, help me to stand for what is right even in the face of insurmountable odds that may cost me my life and all I hold dear. (Thank You for Matthew 10:28)
Help me to discern right from wrong, good from evil; and please give me the strength to choose what is right and good while rejecting that which is wrong and evil regardless the cost and the incentives to join those who are either blind or corrupt!(James 4:17)
And, may God be the glory always!