As I was in church
this past Sunday morning, I was contemplating just how much I was in need of
cleansing. Not externally, but
internally. The Bible describes us as
vessels, earthen vessel and even jars of clay.
Now we have a pretty good dishwasher, but sometimes if the cup is really
dirty it requires soaking or even pre-cleaning in order for the dishwasher to
be successful.
Paul the apostle
described the typical types of vessels and their purposes to his disciple
Timothy: “But in a great house there are not only
vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some
for dishonor. Therefore if anyone
cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and
useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.” Paul also told Timothy about the
relationship between the vessel’s cleanliness and its utility to the
Master.
This brought to mind
a story that my Dad had recounted to me about his interchange with a crusty old
mess sergeant. Well over a half century ago
my Dad was a young Army lieutenant with the additional duty of mess
officer. His duty would normally entail
looking over the ordering of rations, accounting for funds, sanitary conditions
of the facilities, managing manpower, and lastly (and the very least) monitoring
the quality and tastiness of the chow.
It would also require regular visits to the chow hall.
As the story goes, my
Dad went into the chow hall early one morning, grabbed a coffee mug from the
dish rack and was preparing to fill it with good old GI mud. Right at this point my Dad said the
standard-issue aforementioned crusty old mess sergeant seized said mug from the
unsuspecting and green lieutenant and began screaming, “YOU SEE THIS
LIEUTENANT, YOU SEE THIS?” “See what?”
my Dad asked. The mess sergeant
answered, “This mug is cracked lieutenant, it’s cracked!” “But it still works” protested the young
lieutenant. “It doesn’t matter” barked
the mess sergeant, “those cracks harbor disease that even the dishwasher can’t
kill!” And with that the mess sergeant
smashed the mug by hurling it into the mess hall floor.
Needless to say, that
story made quite an impression on that young lieutenant. So much that it has been passed on to his son,
and subsequently his grandson, both of whom have served in that same Army.
So what’s the
point? It’s two fold. First, there is a point where something is no
longer able to function for its intended purpose. Not that it has outlived its
usefulness or that it is merely beyond economic repair, but that it is beyond
being fixed. Such that not even all the
king’s horses or even all the king’s men
can make that mug useful again.
As I look at our
modern political system I see two parties postured against the people. I am
forced to ponder the distinct possibility that the system has simply reached
the point that there is no dishwasher capable of removing the mess. It seems to me and millions of others we’ve
reached the point that Mess Sergeant Trump looks like he’s got the answer –
smash it!
Our Founders foresaw
the possibility of it coming to this point.
In our Declaration of Independence they reserved the right for
destruction when they wrote, “Governments are instituted among Men,
deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any
Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the
People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its
foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to
them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness…it is their
right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new
Guards for their future security.”
Are we there
yet? I hope not. But I do think that Mark Twain was on to
something when he said, “Loyalty to the country always. Loyalty to the government when it
deserves it.”
Maybe even more so when he said, “Politicians and diapers must be changed
often, and for the same reason.” Either way, something’s
got to give.
And the second point,
there is good news for those vessels seeking to be sanctified. An old hymn holds the answer, “What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!”
Great word, Bob! We're missing you guys back here in Hawaii. Please say howzit to your bride for us! Pressin' on ~ Mike
ReplyDeleteThank you, Colonel, for such a timely word to address our condition and our remedy both individually and nationally.
ReplyDelete