Sob Busters

Sod Busters

            A Cambridge University professor, C.S Lewis, one of the world's most popular writers, a man who became a Christian the hard way, he worked his way through the entanglement of intellectualism, recognized by Catholics as well as evangelicals, best known for his book, Screwtape Letters.

            Uncle Screwtape, in Hell, corresponding with his nephew Wormwood, still trying to entice people into evil. Young demon Wormwood was having trouble convincing youth that evil is always preferred...the thrills of illegal sex, illegal addictions, breaking of all commandments. Uncle Screwtape tells nephew Wormwood that his job should be so easy, the people do not even realize that we are around, that evil abounds...the powers of the darkness of the air (Ephesians 6:12). 21st century Americans, revisionist history, spoiled protagonist of 20th century technology have no idea of the cruel oceans and prairies early colonialists encountered. Just to land on these shores, long, hard, ocean journey which killed many, then to extract a living from the hostel soil, facts beyond comprehension. This writer, raised on an Eastern North Carolina farm, still remembers the rigors of the two horse plow...the breaking up of "new ground," soil which had never been cultivated. My parents-grandparents-great grandparents, more blessed than most, the old tractor with the spiked wheels (before the time of rubber for tractor tires). The puritans used oxen to pull the sod buster through the entangled grass and tree roots. After the land had been cleared of trees,  burning of the brush, etc. attempt was made to cultivate the land. In the western prairies, tall grass-weeds, so matted that you could hardly get a plow blade into the ground BUT, THEY DID and middle America fed most of the world. I still remember the day that my father showed me how the roots of weeds would encircle and choke the roots of cultivated plants....same as the way weeds (tares) will take over the church and, the tares-non productive vegetation will take over clubs, political parties, even a nation. Producing plants, like producing trees, have the genetics to thrive and survive in a reasonable-cultured way there are fruit bearers-producers. Weeds-tares are good for nothing. Entangling weeds just slow down growth and "sap" the life out of good plants. Weeds, most of the time are more hardy (capable of surviving difficult conditions), than plants you cultivate for crops.

            But, that is the way it was set up from the beginning. The first garden was perfection, none of the problems of thistles-briars-entangling roots. As with everything else in nature, you can only enjoy the beautiful compared to the ugly, good compared to bad.

            It is much the same in zoology as well as botany. The agriculture entomologist will tell us that there is an insect or bug attracted to every plant. The things I remember most about farming, always too wet or too dry, insects and weeds attacking everything, a constant battle.

            Perhaps Charles Darwin was thinking of these things as he wrote his book, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, 1859. Most people have never seen the complete title of Darwin's book. This writer owned a first edition at one time.

            In other articles I have talked about traveling throughout Africa, Kalahari, Kruger game park, etc. I witnessed something most people have never seen on one occasion: a large herd of elephants at one end of a lake, a large herd of buffalo at the other end of the same lake. In another article I described how lions would hide in the bush and cease the opportunity of feeding on disabled and new born wildebeest.

            One herd of buffalo, one buffalo noising around away from the herd, attacked by four lions. Lions are not afraid of anything. We once came upon a pride of 23 lions lying together, they sleep with their feet in the air, one keeping watch.

            On this day, two of the lions grabbed the buffalo by its rear legs, another jumped on the buffalos back. One went at the buffalo at the front but the buffalos horns made quick deposition of him. Before they took the buffalo down, the rest of the herd stopped eating- everything, just stood in place watching. I'm sure they were thinking, "I'm glad that is not me, poor fellow, bad things happen." This herd, with good sense, with their horns-hoofs, angry, could have made mince meat of the lions. The buffalo did not have the herd mentality, knew nothing of empathy-sympathy assisting someone in distress. Except for tombstones in graveyards, "baby boomers," spoiled debutante girls and debonair gents, even those with plastic welfare cards, victims of technology, psychotropic medications, a remote possibility on a history channel, just might understand what their ancestors encountered- endured.

            In this upside down world where young people only appreciate noise (loud "head banging"-metal-rap discord with asinine lyrics), intent on beating everyone into a total classless system of conduct. The roots of uselessness have taken over. Even an old fashioned sob buster could not get through.

            Today's church, pulpit and pew, clinging to the bar of soap found in 1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  As we prance to the forgiveness alter over and over, God must surely want to bring the attention the preceding eighth verse, such as, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." Modern psychology, a very new discipline would have you believe that everything is acceptable, just as long as you ask forgiveness over and over again. The old time horse and buggy medical doctor, the old time real public school teacher, the old time Catholic nun would say, "If you are sorry, don't do it again."  Liberal progressives, the politically correct, the popularity cults of the world have you believe that spirituality comes in doses of grey. Christian faith is fact not feeling. "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39).

            Another Cambridge University personality C.T Studd, family of wealth, left all and went to China as a missionary, "If Jesus Christ is God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him." World history until now, in spite of the demons "against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]" (Eph 6:12), have always been the sod busters of the world.