Our government has proving grounds for ordnance (“ordinance” in restricted sense) and what better words could be chosen: “proving ground” for the area or testing explosives, ammunition, military vehicles and combat vehicles. Sometimes it amazes me that some in our civilization fail to see the Earth as that—a proving ground. The very birth of a child or planting any of the thousands of seeds for vegetables, fruits and all other plants and trees ought to be some kind of a hint that a proving or testing is necessary in any bit of life that exists.

Testing a military vehicle to make sure it will do what it was designed to do. Testing a seed, especially hybrid seed, to make sure it really produces a “seed less” watermelon is important. But how does this apply with people – babies, no less? Geneticists ought to be prime examples of humility when they “mess around with” things like seeds or life.

Consider, pray tell, specific character traits parents might choose inbred their progeny. A good brain, so their children will be inventive, productive and self supporting? Docility, for easy to train or manage children? A perfect body: good teeth, good looks and ideal frame? They do it with plants – why not people? The search for a perfect person is doubtless equal to the search for a perfect agricultural product, or is it?

I have been reading a book, “Born for Liberty” by Sara M. Evans, who wrote this history of women in America, and the purpose of the book seems obvious: to show how the woman has been used or abused. Pictures profusely show: a woman pushing a wheelbarrow stacked with buffalo chips, a woman feeding chickens, milking a cow or Indian women tossing grain into the air so the wind will blow the chaff away. Some chapter titles of the book seem to further set off the goal of Ms Evans’ book: Women and Modernity, A Time of Division; that goal or aim which might be to show women whose rights have been either overlooked or denied worth.

All women have not been overlooked or denied space in the pages of history. Otherwise how could the author of the book discover that lady pictured with the wheelbarrow of buffalo chips was none other than Ella Sly, who in 1893 filed a homestead claim to 160 acres on her own. Ella was not ignorant or too uninformed to know that buffalo chips could be sold for fuel in Finney County, Kansas. Apparently that was one of the means this lady used to accumulate sufficient funds to file and meet the demands of a homestead claim. She did not sit in a rocking chair, rocking and pine away her existence or unfortunate circumstances.

The Bible is replete with examples of women who seized the opportunity to get what was either needed or required, especially if “her man” was an indolent jerk. The lady King David later married was such a lady. (Read this providential story in the 25th chapter of I Samuel. A lady named Deborah decided men were not accepting their responsibility and she decided to get the job done but refused to share the glory and took the credit for that victory. (See Judges 4th Chapter)

These few incidents of women only tell part of this story of a proving ground. Is it safe to say, “One of these days [all] things will be perfect, right”? Is that what this is all about – wanting things to be perfect? Is this fight in life to get or have things bigger than, louder than, better than or could it be we are missing the mark in a target of this divine proving ground?

The nations of Israel and Judah did a pretty fair job of muddling around in life trying to “serve their God” but missing the mark continually. One lone prophet, Micah, wrote what was probably to be the essence of godliness: “What has the Lord required of you, but to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with thy God?” Seems rather simple to me. Not a list of [just] Ten Commandments or even the several hundred commandments reiterated in the book of Deuteronomy that makes up the godly life. If you “do justly” and “love mercy” and “walk humbly with God” that is it! Within this has to be seen you can’t be a cheat and use crooked scales. Within this you have to see we must be merciful to others, beginning with our spouse, our children, our neighbors and whoever else stands in line after them. It is through doing all this that we honor and serve God. Mother Teresa, early on, saw the need to “see the face of Jesus” in every sick person in Calcutta. Only then could she bring that sickness ridden body close to her breast to comfort and pray for some kind of peace in their minds and body. The wonderful work of Dr. & Mrs. Paul Brand, who worked among lepers in India and later in Carville, Louisiana, was not to mark off a litany or list of godly things to do but to “love mercy and serve their God” by ministering to lepers, finding simple physical ways that would improve an otherwise senseless existence.

Do we have to be told this world is not perfect? Do we have to be told a reform school or a prison will not do what we want it to do, to make people perfect? Do we have to be told that a marriage of two people will only be “perfect” if both parties regard themselves as equal parts of their life “as one”?

Do we have to be told that the couplets “nuts and bolts” “a door and hinges” “a lock and a key” ought to give us a hint as to solutions to our world’s problems? The nut is the piece which fastens onto the bolt enabling the job to get done. The door can only be freely opened and closed IF hinges are fastened to the door and the door frame. The lock is a senseless mystery unless the key is used to open the box or door made secure with the lock.

To expect perfection, in men, women, children, organizations, races or nations is about as mindless as expecting a bolt to be secure without a nut; or a door to somehow open and close without a hinge or a lock to be secure without a key [assuming we are using a lock with a physical key—not some modern “keyless” lock]. Principles, precepts, commands, and a myriad of other factors are involved. Life is seldom, if ever, fair. Women have been overlooked and not praised, as they should have been. So? What’s new? Is it so difficult to realize nations (or civilizations) too have to mature? Is it so difficult to understand that life is a proving ground? Nothing is really finished or perfectly accomplished in this life. Whatever injustices or even mistakes involving any person, sex or race ought to be sufficient evidence that proves conclusively that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

Why do some insist on reliving the past and point out the inhumanities to women, in this case, and later in generations closer to the present we have seen the “black man” become accepted in ways no one except Martin Luther King, Jr. dreamed. Those words, “I have a dream…” are almost tiring sometimes. I have a dream too, I hope someday people can accept the failures of past generations and quit harping like nothing has occurred positively in regard to the woman, the black man, or the American Indian. Surely, as we live out our own existence, will it not be obvious we too have tried to improve upon our shortcomings? What else is life (on the earth) for but to learn how to accept the inequities of life and go on? Only then can we honestly sing those words as we die and exclaim, “Ain’t going to study war no more…” War is not the only thing we have had to study in this life. Try acceptance, try forgiveness and what about consideration toward others?

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Posted by Bill Venrick at 3:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This essay was written by an old friend of ours, Robert J. Tinsky, of Oblong, Illinois. Fifty-six years this past June 3, Bob performed the ceremony that made my wife, Jean, and I one. I guess that qualifies us as “old friends”. Bob preached for fifty years and has written essays that have been published in publishing houses affiliated with the Christian Church. He is currently serving a church near Oblong on a short-term basis. When Bob read my most recent essay he e-mailed to let me know he had written an essay on “books” too. I hope you will appreciate Bob’s essay, I know we did.

About 3000 years ago King Solomon wrote: “Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.” (Ecclesiastes 12:12) The prophet wrote of the time when “many will go here and there to increase knowledge.” (Daniel 12:4) I wonder what King Solomon would think if he could come back and see the vast multitude of books being published every year in our country. I am not given to predictions of end-times events in our world but I cannot help but wonder if Daniel could be referring to the time in which we live.

In 2006 there were 290,000 books published in the United States. Each year about 10 million books are written, most of which are never accepted for publication. Every week I read in the newspaper articles about some of the new books that have been printed along with a list of the ten best selling fiction and the ten best selling non-fiction books. Some of the magazines I receive have pages trying to entice me to join their book club so I can receive the latest books each month. In the pages of their monthly magazine and in letters I receive in the mail I am invited to sign up so I can receive monthly the Reader’s Digest Condensed Books. (I don’t subscribe but I do like to get my hands on used copies of them.)

I turn on my computer and go to Google or Yahoo and I am immediately invited to read the latest headlines. At my fingertips are sites that will instantly tell me everything I want to know about any possible subject. (Sometimes, much more than I really want to know). I have bookmarked several sites where I can get the latest news from both a liberal or conservative viewpoint and where I can get articles by those of the same political persuasion.

I have a library of at least 1000 books in my home with all kinds of information. I know I can get much of this same information via the Internet but I am of the old generation and still like to have a book in hand. We have a small library in our little town that can get almost any book I want to read or study by going to their inter-library loan program. I can order the book and have it often in two days.

My mind is reeling from even thinking of all this knowledge instantly at my command. With all this information at hand you would think I was the smartest person on the earth. Problem is, when do I find time to read all this? And, just reading is not enough. Some of these things take time to study thoroughly to be sure I really comprehend and to get the information embedded into my own God given memory system.

Enough on this subject. Time to get back to reading the latest book I borrowed from the library just three days ago.

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THANKS, BOB – appreciate your thoughts about books,

THE WORDWRIGHT

Posted by Bill Venrick at 8:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Even the Scripture says, “…of making many books there is no end…” (Ecclesiastes 12:12) And further, another rather incidental inference [to books] is when the Apostle John wrote, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.” John 21:25

Personally I am glad there is no end to books. My thirst is quenched regularly when I root through the shelves of our several book resources. I can’t just say “book cases” because some of our bookcases are, pardon me, simply boxes with books in them. And really they are not boxes, per se but I have a couple old tough plastic milk cases once used by milk dealers (acquired legally I might add).

One such book is “Beyond Certainty”, by Charles Handy. That little book is slightly over 200 pages and is about six by nine inches. I picked up this little gem at a library sale in 2003 and it was nearly a repeat performance of Neil Postman’s philosophy about learning and education. I say “nearly” because Postman wrote several books and Handy’s little book only devoted a few pages to some of the ideas Postman used several books to milk the meaning out of those subjects.

Today I want to dip into Chapter Seven of Handy’s book and expound on the title: “Teach Your Children Well”. Biblical precepts are not difficult to find in the Scripture, especially the Old Testament where it says, “…teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” (Deuteronomy 6:7)

In reality not many parents, I am afraid, use set times to teach their children and I am not sure but what God factored in that data, otherwise why would His Spirit inspire the writer to say, “…when thou sittest…walkest…liest down and risest up…” I was not raised in what is typically called, a Christian Home, but it was a home in the days when most mothers were in the house when we got out of school and that sole fact meant something to most of us kids. Unfortunately, many of us did not do a very good job of extending those observed lessons of practices and principles on to the next generation. But there is one area of teaching that will never be displaced or out of touch with any pedagogy – we teach by our actions.

Sow a thought, reap an action:
Sow an action, reap a habit;
Sow a habit, reap a character;
Sow a character and reap a destiny.

What kind of habit or activity are you teaching your children? I cannot vouch for anyone but myself and I personally know or need to admit that some of my actions lacked the depth needed to make lasting impressions on our children. But who cannot lay claim to such a confession? Our children will long remember how we reacted to specific circumstances longer than what we told them what to do. If any have some of the “bad habits” of cursing, swearing, drinking or smoking, it doesn’t matter how many times our children were told, “Don’t do as I do but do as I say,” they knew we were failures in certain areas. One of the many sad facts of life is to be oblivious to the accuracy of teaching by our examples. The most qualified pedagogue, in all candor, might easily overlook the reality of his pupils learning his tics and quirks instead of the lessons he has prepared.

If you would like to have your children (or grandchildren) be something, give them good examples rather than a litany or reams of lessons and precepts. The old axiom, “The eye makes a better pupil than the ear,” is not only a clever saying, it is the TRUTH!

THE WORDWRIGHT

Posted by Bill Venrick at 2:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)