Chariots and Horses

The Psalmist wrote, "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God" (20:7).  And his words, though antiquated in symbolism, ring just as true today as when they were penned millennia ago.

Today we don't trust in chariots and horses particularly, with the exception of those who "play the ponies" at the track, but we do trust in that which we believe gives us power or position.  On a national level, we trust in nuclear weapons, superior conventional weaponry and an unmatched satellite capacity.  We trust in a military machine without rival and resources unparalleled in history.

On a personal level, Americans tend to trust in things such as their wealth, their education and their appearance.  Good looks, a graduate degree and a generous portfolio would be the trifecta.  Any one of the three gives one a sense of value and importance - something in which to trust.

While the trappings have changed over the course of history, the trap has stayed the same.  Satan entices us to believe that we have life under control, that we the ability to rein things in, that we are the captains of our destiny.  As the ending stanza of William Ernest Henley's poem, Invictus, reads, "It matters not how straight the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul."

Jesus disagrees pointing out that we "cannot make even on hair black or white" (Matt 5:36) or "add a single hour to our lives" (Matt 6:27).  While we say, "I am rich, I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing" (Rev 3:17a), he rebuffs saying, "But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked" (3:17b).

My patients know that Jesus is right and Henley was wrong.  Having reached the end of their lives, one of the constants is the realizaton that it was not what they thought it would be.  All their attempts to assure control by setting aside funds or making special arrangement did not stop them from losing control and their displacement from the familiar.  It has been for them much like what Jesus said it would be for Peter: "when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go" (Jn 21:18).

While it may appear that you have the world on a string, you actually have a tiger by the tail and one day you won't be able to hang on any longer.  On that day, the tiger will devour you for "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Pet 5:8).  OK, he's called a lion not a tiger, but lion, tiger or bear "Oh, my" they will eat you up.

There is but one hope, one way of victory over the Enemy: "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls" (Joel 2:32).  Jus' Say'n.