Some missions not worth fighting for
We are living in a divided culture. If you
ever wondered if that statement was true, now, after these past
few days, you must concede that it is a certainty and dangerous.
We have two camps in this nation and they are in a battle for
ultimate power. What if one side overcomes the other and
renders the enemy helpless and slavish? What if the division becomes
so deep that we have another civil war? What if there is one heroic surge and half
the people in the nation are blown out of power? The tension is so great that men and women
of reason and good will must now sit back and contemplate how
this happened. The division was not created overnight. Take these grievances back to the 1960s,
when the citizens began talking about the environment, homosexuals,
abortion, international peacekeeping, feminism and a host of issues
that have pried open the wound a little at a time. By the time the turbulence of the 1960s
and 1970s cooled, men and women were left with a mandate to settle
their battles in quieter and slower ways. Some thought the fighting
was over. But others feared it would return and be hotter. Heres a story I have to tell because
it illustrates the point so clearly. In a parish I served in the
1960s, the parishioners established a day-care center for small
children. And since this was an old church building, it was deemed
acceptable that both the little boys and the little girls would
use the same bathroom. It was called a unisex bathroom, I think. Suddenly the director of the center began
receiving calls from an anonymous man who charged that those wee
children 2- and 3-year-olds were being turned into
homosexuals and sex addicts because they were coerced into using
the same bathroom. The pastors of the church were also receiving
phone calls and because children were involved, law enforcement
was contacted. The police had the culprit in a matter of
hours. They tapped the day-care centers phone and came to
us with a name, address and telephone number. We decided the perpetrator should not be
arrested. Rather we confronted him called him at home,
told him we knew what he had been doing and asked him to come
to the church within an hour. He was there on the dot. He was a complete stranger, but his granddaughter
was enrolled in the day-care center and he had discussed the bathroom
situation with his daughter, the grandchilds mother. He sat white-faced and guilty before three
clergy and a couple of officers. When we asked him to tell us
why he launched his telephone campaign, he began to weep in a
deep, sorrowful way and could not stop. Finally someone put an
arm around the poor guy and asked him to pull his emotions together. Then, in a cracking voice, he said, Ive
never stood up for anything. Ive always hung back and let
others. I thought this was my chance. I was a young man
then, just beginning my career and I thought this was one of the
saddest people I had ever seen. Now I think he is fairly normal. By the way, he dropped out of our sight
and we never received another call. Now, I think we have a nation of men and
women who look at their lives and say, over and over, I
never stood for anything. Then they think of that old saying,
Those who stand for nothing will fall for anything.
And they worry about their ultimate fate. But for some, the day comes when they see
their call clearly. Suddenly they have a chance to ride into battle
with the brave hearts, those who claim they are the champions
of truth. The issue does not matter. It could be a doctrinal issue
or abortion, homosexuality, the environment even a unisex bathroom.
What matters is that a battle must be waged. Let me tell you, men and women, it is not
your fault that God has not called you as a warrior. This is simply
one danger of living in a time of peace and affluence. The duty
you have been asked to do has been different: raising a family,
working for 40 years, keeping the lawn mowed, being a peaceful
and productive citizen. Further, the giant fault of our society
is that organizations often believe it is their mission to shield
people from real sacrifice and servanthood. So all the big, impressive
missions are done for you. Someone else gets to blow up the bridges. We thought that was one of the benefits
of being affluent. Turns out, it might be one of dangers. The
truth is, most of us have an inborn desire to contribute to the
common good. But in these times, well want to be sure the
mission serves the right people.
Clark D. Morphew
Posted For November 26, 2000