When I first arrived at basic training on May 9, 1974, our drill instructor referred to us as a variety of things, most of which I would not care to share with you even in private. However, there was one monocre I can reveal to you: Rainbows. We were called Rainbows because we were a multi-colored bunch. We came from different backgrounds, wore different clotthes, different hairstyles, different schedules, etc.
Our drill instructor's job was to transform us from a multi-colored Rainbows to a monochrome unit, which looked, thought, spoke, responded, worked, et. al. as one. They shaved our heads and faces, put us into uniforms, sentt us to bed at one time, got us up the same time, fed us togetther, marched us together. They trained us to start, stop, turn, reverse, speed up, slow down and stop all as one unit. On day one we looked like a bunch of monkeys scrambling for the last bananna falling from a tree. By the end of training, we were a well-oiled machine.
In order to get us to that point of unity, our instructor had to get us to give up our individualality. We had to stop thinking of our wants and even our rights, and start thinking of our unit and our mission. We had to die to self in order to live as a fighting force. And our TI (training instructor) seemed willing to kill us literally to bring that transformation about. He pushed us to limits that only could be met as a unit. Those who held on to their notion of rights and pushed back to get their wants met instead of serve for the good of the unit and in preparation for the mission, were sent to a special unit where special pressure and tatics were applied. If they did not make the transformation there, at the end of a year, they were dismissed as other than honorable.
Becoming a soldier of the cross is very similar. As Christians we cannot insist on our rights and our wants but must put unity of the Spirit and completion of the mission as first priority. In order to gain the sacrificial life of a disciple, we must give up the selfish life of a sinner. Jesus tells us very plainly, "For whoever wantt to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his ife for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?" (Matt 16:25-26).
Outside of Christ, we are a rainbow of dissimilar beliefs, desires, ambitions, bents, etc. But in Christ, we must become one in spirit and faith, we must embrace a monochrome life in the sense that we are led by the same Spirit, serve the same Master, seek the same goals and share the same faith. Jesus prayer for all his disciples is "that all of them may be one" (John 17:21).
As a side note, America suffers from a Rainbow Mentality today. We are one nation divided by various cultures, colors and creeds. We purposely segregate into dissimilar groups in places called China Town or Little Italy. We have days marked off to highlight the fact that some are African American while others are Hispanic Americans. We pigeon hole people into voting blocks and try to pander to the seperate values of that group of whites or blacks or whatever we can seperate from the herd to take a different trail.
America used to be called a melting pot but we have worked hard to create a rainbow palate. A Rainbow Coalition can only truly exist when we keep the diferent colors from blending as one. They may work together on some things, but they must never become one for then we become a monochrome entity - a melting pot produces only one color, only one product, only one unified whole. We must be willing to give up our lives in order to live as one. You cannot be a part of a unit and a lone wolf at the same time, you must choose. Jus' Sayn.
No comments:
Post a Comment