This is the twelfth of a weekly blog series that will focus on leadership in the outdoors and how to get the most from the least. Even though the title is called, “Thoughts of a Modern-Day Mountain Man”, it will hopefully cover topics that are useful to everyone.
Chapter 12: Every individual man is an important part of the company.
“Dragons can only be defeated by brave men-usually alone. Sometimes a faithful friend may help, but it is rare; friends have a way of deserting you when a dragon comes. Dragons are the final test of heroes”
- J.R.R. Tolkien “Lecture on Dragons”
In the mountain man’s time of yesteryear the expectation was that every member of the company, both men and women, would carry their own part of the burden of work while in the field trapping and trading. There simply were no spectators. No one went along on the sometimes year-long trips into very dangerous and sometimes hostile areas if they didn’t contribute to the overall good of the group. A person who didn’t help was quickly discarded or their contract was not renewed for future seasons in the mountains. The jobs that needed to be done from day-to-day could be very mundane and boring, such as cooking and cleaning gear, to very dangerous, such as serving as a sentry while the company was in a territory where hostile parties could be present. The measure of a man’s worth was to serve and provide the greatest value to his fellow mountaineers and the company for which he or she was employed.
One of my favorite hymns is 19th century English hymn Onward, Christian Soldiers. In the quote below given by Winston Churchill in 1941, this powerful hymn was used as a call to action, by men of action, to battle a real and present evil in the world. It is time for Christian individuals everywhere to take action, there are dragons that need to be slayed.
“We sang "Onward, Christian Soldiers" indeed, and I felt that this was no vain presumption, but that we had the right to feel that we were serving a cause for the sake of which a trumpet has sounded from on high. When I looked upon that densely packed congregation of fighting men of the same language, of the same faith, of the same fundamental laws, of the same ideals ... it swept across me that here was the only hope, but also the sure hope of saving the world from measureless degradation.”
— Winston Churchill
This notion or idea of every man serving a purpose for which he is called extends into the Christian church world everyday. Countless numbers of times during my employment at camps and conference centers I heard someone say “well, that isn’t my job” when something needed to be done, even if the job at hand was very mundane or could have been completed very quickly while the staff member was there. Instead the task was left undone for the person that they thought should do it instead based on some arbitrary job description. Without a doubt, the best camps and conference centers I have worked with throughout the years always had one common denominator, camp staff that saw a job that needed to be done and completed it regardless of if it was seen as part of their job description or not.
This idea of doing what needs to be done in a timely manner by the person who is prepared, ready, and there, is an area where I believe the modern Christian church has failed time and time again. In the Great Commission, Jesus commands His disciples to “GO,” which is a direct command for action. Jesus doesn’t say give people your thoughts, or be defensive and wait for those in need to come to you. Without a doubt, Christianity is best when it is taking the fight to the enemy. When it becomes a defensive measure it is often found wanting. It is very important to remember that Jesus and His disciples were direct men of action. They did what needed to be done, everyday, every time, to spread the Gospel and lay the foundations of the Christian church, often at the risk of their own peril. The words “this is someone else’s job,” probably never entered their thoughts. Who was better suited than them to get the job done? Christianity hasn’t failed, Christians have. We have not taken action when it was needed. Historically there have been many warrior societies where every man (and sometimes woman) was expected to be a person of action. It was fundamental to their very society. They were always at the ready, prepared to move and act at a moment’s notice. This is what Christ has called for us to do as Christian soldiers, be men and women of action and purpose.
It almost goes without saying that every time a large scale tragedy or disaster occurs, the canned response will almost always be “our thoughts and prayers are with you.” These are surely words of cowardice when used together. I would not group the politicians or church leaders that utter these directionless and meaningless words into the same category as the person or the destructive force that committed such a vile destructive act, but in many ways these same people that utter these words carry much of the burden of blame. By the time something full of tragedy happens, it is too late, the time for meaningful and Christian action has long since passed. Christ never called anyone to give someone or something their thoughts and prayers, but rather their prayers and actions. Someone may stop the event or help in the moment that drastic action is needed to protect others, that person may even be hailed as a hero in the nightly news for preventing further immediate loss of life or destruction to property, but again, when these tragic events happen they must be accepted as a failure on the part of Christians. The person who steps in immediately is definitely brave, risking their own well-being and safety to protect others, and they should rightfully be recognized for this willingness to forfeit their own life for others, but that is not the issue at hand. When we notice a job needing to be done, to help someone or reach out to someone who is falling deeply into despair, we must act.
We are all gifted with different skills and called into different professions, the Bible tells us as much. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be prepared to do someone else’s job or accept the call to action when it is needed, however, even if it isn’t our strength or our perceived role or profession. Christ calls all Christians to action.
We have allowed an entire generation or two to grow-up with no basis in God’s moral law or no true sense of what is right or wrong. The fault lies not with our children or our society, but with us Christians. Instead of acting when it was needed in a Christian manner, Christians have been more worried about how their actions would be perceived by secular society or their peers. For too long we have sat on the sidelines and been mere observers, providing no real value or merit to our company-the Christian church. Just like in the mountain man’s time of yesteryear, the work is sometimes mundane, sometimes dangerous and sometimes messy, but if we are not willing to give our fellow man our greatest gifts, our lives and our actions, then we have no business being part of this company.
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