A Good Night to Get Called Out
It was a non-descript Saturday night, while in high school, and I was waiting in the kitchen for a friend to pick me up to go out to a party. My parents had a small black and white television that they kept in the kitchen, that seemed very cool at the time, but medieval by today’s standards.
It was about 5:30, which in those days was a graveyard for television. It was a time slot usually given over to syndicated shows, like Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, or public service announcement type shows, typically raising money for charities.
It was one such show as that which came on the air. It started out like so many other similar shows. It was an African village, unpaved, dirt streets, huts, something out of a Hollywood backlot. The camera scanned the village from left to right. Into view came the inhabitants. They were a wretched looking lot, ragged clothing, and distended bellies, indicating severe malnutrition and starvation.
As this scene unfolded, I said to myself, “I am sick of these shows”. As if on cue, the narrator came on. Not just any narrator mind you, but Moses himself, Charlton Heston. An unmistakable voice if there ever was one. He then said, in his voice direct from God, “are you sick of this? So am I”. I instantly felt like the biggest piece of shit on the planet. First, how did he know? Second, how could I have been so callous? In any event, I was reduced to a human pile of rubble. I, out of sheer guilt, if nothing else, continued to watch this show until my ride arrived. I admittedly did not donate, because I was in high school, and had very little money. However, it was a moment that I have never forgotten.
The Lessons Learned
So, what is the takeaway from this trip down amnesia lane? First, as is always the case God works though those He puts in our lives. This is true even if that someone is “Moses” himself. Everyone we come across has something to teach. It might be what not to do, or it might be a positive lesson. Nonetheless, everyone is a teacher. Keep in mind that this means we are teachers in some fashion as much as pupils. This should focus our attention on how we treat others during our day. The best thing we can do to facilitate our role as pupils is to keep our ears, minds, and hearts open. Since we never know when an important lesson is coming, this will keep us in a learning mode.
Fortunately for me, this lesson was not a subtle one. It was a Holy Spirit thumping your skull kind of moment. So obvious that even a high school student understood what he was being taught. However, many lessons are more subtle than having Charlton Heston smack you down. So, the best advice is to pay attention.
The other substantive lesson is to keep focused on those less fortunate than yourself. As this program pointed out, there is true, and deep suffering on planet Earth. There still is, and likely always will be. The attitude I began this lesson with was one of “I don’t want to deal with this anymore”. That is a decidedly unhealthy attitude. We must not, we cannot, look away. We certainly would be weak followers of Jesus if we did. This does not mean you donate to every good cause you see advertised. It means doing what you can financially, of course. But, as importantly, just having some compassion for people in situations like these. Prayer is always an appropriate response. Pray also that when you do have an ability to directly help, with your treasure, or simply your time and talent, that do so to the best of your ability. I certainly have a long way to go in developing this attitude more fully, but thanks to Chuck Heston, I got put on the path.
I have long thought that at the end of it all we will stand before God, and He will ask us a simple question, “what did you do with what I gave you?”. The best answer any fallen human can give is “I did the best I could Lord”. Hopefully our belief will make us more obedient. Also, hopefully, it won’t take Charlton Heston reducing you to a pile of manure to get you to realize this, the way it did me.
Praise Be to God
