She was the hottest girl I had ever seen … and upon seeing her day after day, I saw no-thing or no-one else that interested me. Hey that was saying a lot for my kindergarten-age attention span at the time. Well one day, while I was sitting on top of the monkey bars at recess, she happened to come walking by.
“Oh I think boys who fall off of the monkey bars are big and strong.”
What was I to do? So on the fifth time of falling down, I landed on my wrist on cracked it. No spanking I had received until that time came close to the pain I felt. My cracked wrist was a slap on the wrist worth of pain, compared to the disappointment I felt when she never spoke to me again. She was supposed to like me … no … she was supposed to have worshipped me. Alas, my view of the world fell off the monkey bars, and much like old Humpty Dumpty, could not be put back together again.
Yes, this is simply another lesson that might well have made for a great episode of “The Andy Griffith Show.” The only problem is that many adults are still climbing and falling off high idealistic monkey bars today. In their minds the world just ought to work a certain way, despite the circumstances. That piece is not what’s problematic. The highly idealistic among us have the habit of ignoring the snickering girls and continue to fall of the bars, despite multiple broken bones. Reality just ought to work this way.
Take for example the ideal of “helping the poor.” Many well meaning idealistic crusaders among us continue to climb the monkey bars of LBJ’s Great Society, thinking the welfare state is the best way to care for “the least of these.” Despite (or inspite of … whichever word is appropriate) American Society’s broken homes due to Government subsidies of laziness and immoral behavior; they climb still. Our friendly neighborhood idealistic crusaders continue to climb the bars, taking swipes at the wealthy (thinking there is only so much money to go around … merchantilism died off several centuries ago), taking swipes at “middle class values” (to Hell with hard work and long range planning and family commitments). Robin Hood never really helped the poor … he only entertained them while making everyone poor. (Perhaps more on this in a later post.)
Now don’t get me wrong, ideals are great … but not at the expense of reality’s track record.
Along this same vein two movies illustrate the inter-mingling of reality with idealism … “Charlie Wilson’s War” and “Rambo.”
Charlie Wilson’s War
Upon seeing the documentary on The History Channel, I had to see the movie. (As a disclaimer, I don’t recommend this movie as a “family movie” if you catch my drift.) Throughout the movie idealism is in bed with reality. The Soviet Union has invaded Afghanistan and is mutilating their population to subdue them. With Afghanistan secure, the Soviets will have an unprecidented window on the world to crash and break into the world. If the US overtly helps the Afghans, WWIII could break out. A “devout” evangelical Christian teams up (sometimes sexually) with a moral recluse and secure appropriate Congressional support for the Afghans. In the mean time this team brings Egypt, Pakistan, and Israel into their buddy-buddy coalition.
Good News. The Soviets are defeated by the Mujahadeen in Afghanistan, which is one of the major nails in the Soviet coffin. Bad News. The US would not officially enter into Afghanistan to help rebuild schools and infrastructure. Bad News. Islamic Radicals poured into their new holy land to build Islamic warrior training camps.
Rambo (Disclaimer: This is certainly not a “family” movie.)
Missionaries want to hire the “retired” Rambo to take them upriver from Thailand to Burma. Rambo at first refuses. They plead with him, based on the purity of their mostly medical mission work. He refuses based on the savagry ravaging the Burmese people.
“You got guns?”
“No.”
“You ain’t gonna change anything.”
The savage beast is convinced by the beautiful woman to take them upriver. Passing into Burma, they happen upon horny Burmese pirates. After failed negotiations with the-pirates-who-don’t-do-anything-nice, the pirates attempt to snatch the lone female in the pack. Rambo blows them away. The male leader chastizes Rambo for his saving their ungrateful lives. Rambo decided a Heart-to-Heart is needed. Jacking the slob up, he informs his admirer that the female would have been gang-raped all night long. Upon dropping the missionaries off, the male leader informs Rambo that he would have to report his actions, “It is never right to take a life.”
Was the man also going to report the Pirates-Who-Don’t-Do-Anything-Nice of their attempted, but averted, rape? Rambo ends up having to save them again. Did they need guns to advance the Gospel. Of course not. But the Burmese people they were trying to help (who were already Christians for the most part) also did not need a message of salvation … they needed saving from utter butchery.
Healthy Idealism
Do I have ideals? You betcha! Do I wish wars and sexual immorality and poverty … and … sin would cease? You betcha!! Do I believe that Jesus is truly ruling and reinging as the King of the Cosmos? You betcha!!!
But … and this is a big, nasty, hairy but that needs to be wiped … I also believe that we ignore human sin nature to our bleeding heart’s cardiac arrest. Jesus is pretty clear that the problems of human sin nature reigning sorta-free in the world (ie wars and rumors of wars) are not going to be irradicated before he returns in final victory.
So let’s help lift people out of poverty … so let’s minister to those in war-ravaged countries … so let’s put a stop to AIDS … so let’s seek and destroy evil in the world. But let us not neglect to give serious consideration to installing checks and balances on the sin nature in our efforts … lest our high idealism be gunned down by the reality of human sin nature.
