independence

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)

Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. (Col 1:28)

And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. (2 Tim 2:2)

To my Islamic brother here from Italy, I would say I’m not really interested in inter-faith dialogue; I’m interested in inter-faith projects… we brought in three imams, we brought in three Catholic priests, we brought in three evangelical pastors, and we brought in three Rabbis and we said, “What can we do about AIDS?” And we started on some common ground on those issues; what can we do that we all care about? (Rick Warren)¹

It is the middle of the third quarter at the Home Team Football Stadium. The score is tied at 32 and the audience is tense as it could be anyone’s game at this point. Perhaps a new strategy could tip the odds in Home Team’s favor.

Away Team has the ball. The center snaps, the quarterback tries to pitch the ball to the halfback but Outside Linebacker clobbers him into a fumble, which Safety recovers and runs in for a touchdown followed by a successful extra point. High-fives abound as the scoreboard now reads 39-32. There is a kickoff and Home Team is back on defense.

In Home Team’s huddle, the players discuss devising a new strategy. “Wow! That was great!” says Cornerback. “Did you see all of the high-fives? It feels so good to give high-fives. And look at the scoreboard. We’re winning! Isn’t it interesting that the more successful we are, the more high-fives we give? Maybe we need to adjust our strategy to focus more on high-fives.”

Safety responds, “I agree that high-fives are nice, but let’s not forget that the reason for the high-fives was that Outside Linebacker caused a fumble and I scored a touchdown. If we can keep this up, then high-fives will be inevitable.”

Defensive End says, “I like what Cornerback is saying. I tell you what, on the next play, everyone will do the normal thing, but he and I will high-five each other the whole time. Let’s see how that goes.”

Away Team tries for a pass, but does not succeed. Back in the huddle, Defensive End and Cornerback are excited.

“Wow! We were able to high-five each other twelve times and Away Team didn’t move a single inch!”

“That would be because Away Team didn’t catch the ball. Haven’t you ever read the Rule Book?”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. We can’t keep going by some old Rule Book, especially if we have a new way to do things that clearly works! Come join us, Outside Linebacker.”

They line back up, but this time after the ball is in motion, Outside Linebacker joins Defensive End and Cornerback in high-fiving each other while the rest of Home Team is left to fend for themselves. Away Team takes advantage of the weakness and runs the ball past the high-fivers. Safety manages to tackle the carrier after a 15-yard loss. First down.

“What happened?”

“We only did 10 high fives this time, where were you, Outside Linebacker?”

“We need another adjustment. It takes two people to high five and if we have three, then we will end up getting in each other’s way. Let’s bring in more people to do high-fives, but this time we will stand in a circle and concentrate on each other instead of the read of the game. Let’s try singing ‘Patty Cake’ to keep the rhythm going.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” interrupts Safety, “you are departing from the Rule Book. Let’s play this game the right way as we always have. The Rules say that at the end of the game, it is the scoreboard that matters, not high-fives.”

Cornerback responds, “You know, Safety, you are such a hypocrite. You yourself admitted to enjoying high-fives and now you want to prevent others from enjoying them. I think that if you search your feelings, then you would know that you can’t take this Rule Book literally. But don’t take my word for it: after the last play, I overheard some guys from Away Team say that they were glad that we are doing the high fives. It’s bad enough that you choose some silly Rule Book over your feelings and your own teammates even, but here is outside confirmation that our way is better.”

Home Team returns to the line of scrimmage and upon the hike of the ball, the left defensive tackle and guard join in the group high-fives as Away Team carries the ball into the end zone without a scratch. The Away Team fans rejoice as their team runs in a two-pointer.

The score is now 39-40.

There is confusion on the Home Team sideline as the defense delivers their news to the rest of the team. “It was great! Do you hear all of that cheering? We high-fived 63 times!”

Right Guard asks, “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, we don’t go by the Rule Book anymore. We play Patty Cake now. Here, have some Kool-Aid.”

Left Offensive Tackle takes the squirt bottle and after taking a drink says, “Oh that sounds awesome! I read some of the Rule Book back in High School. It was a drag. This new system sounds much better. I mean, it’s working, right? Let’s do it!”

As the game continues, more and more players from Home Team join the movement to play Patty Cake as the others play football around them. What started as an extreme idea by a defensive Cornerback slowly eats away at the entire left. Then the center. Then slowly into the right. The Right Guard and the Safety, formerly the protector of the ball and the last line of defense, are now seen as a fundamentalist minority that is hung up on some silly old Rule Book.

It is now the fourth quarter. The scoreboard reads 39-236, but Home Team boasts of 2,378 high-fives. Both Away Team and Home Team’s Patty Cake circle are equally convinced that they are winning. If success is measured by an organization’s ability to achieve its own goals, then one could say that they are both winning. But, then again, if success is measured by a Rule Book that is supreme, then Home Team is going to look silly at the end of the game when only the scoreboard is considered.

Fortunately, the minority members of Home Team who persevere will finally be recognized. It will not be pleasant in the meantime, but the more bitter it is now, the sweeter it will be then.

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. (1 Cor 9:24)