"I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase"
1 Corinthians 3:6
A Message From the Horne of Africa
"Where Have All the Mad Men Gone?"
12/24/2008
"Gone to government everyone! Ha! When will they ever learn?" You can't govern without God! Do you remember an old Kingston trio pop-song that had a similar refrain? The difference is that those were "young men;" and they went to war. A mad dog (rabid canine) gets shot; a mad cow shuts down the steak restaurant, but "mad" men run for political office all around the world and get elected. Once a man bestowed his last name on his dog. Then he entered the mutt in a political contest without reference to his furry friend's genus. The dog gained the majority vote. When it came time to takes his place in the halls of government, the dog found he was barking up the wrong tree. There were also some red faces among his constituents! Reminds me of a crazy story I read recently. Said one cow to another cow in the field, "What do you think about all this mad cow disease going around?" Replied the other, as it jiggled its ears, "Who cares? I'm a helicopter!"
Wasn't it Noel Coward who wrote "Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noon day sun?" That's probably why there is siesta time in Spain but is not energized in England. England comes alive during soccer season while places of worship are disappearing from the scene.
"Madness" is a malady that occurs in scripture, too. To avoid the "politics of personal destruction," David feigned madness in the presence of King Achish of Gath. David apparently put graffiti on the doors and salivated like our proverbial mad dog, 1 Samuel 21:10-15. Achish retorted, "Why bring him to me? Am I so short of madmen that you bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house?"
David was between a rock and a hard place--Saul was trying to kill him from the back and Achish stood ready to do him in from the front. David had a good role model in Saul who played an Oscar winning role of a lunatic from the time he discovered David might be a rival to his leadership, 1 Samuel 18:8-12. It has been said, "Honesty is the best policy, but insanity is a better defense." David could appreciate that. Sue Kolinsky adds, "I don't buy temporary insanity as a murder defense. Breaking into someone's home and ironing all their clothes is temporary insanity." Now you know!
The atheistic philosopher Goethe once said, "We do not have to visit a mad house to find disordered minds; our planet is the mental institution of the universe." I have to agree with him. Let me explain why I think "insanity rules." Why do the vast majority of people in the world turn away from their creator, Matthew 7:13-14? He is actually everyone's God and Father, whether they acknowledge it or not, Romans 1:21-22. There our insanity is characterized as becoming "fools" in our lack of understanding about him and his saving grace. Not only did he create us, bless us with life and with everything that sustains it, but he also gave us a second chance to know him after we alienated ourselves from him through our sinful ways, Ephesians 2:12-13.
In our human insanity, many have declared the gospel of salvation as a stumbling block or foolishness, 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, but it is the power of God unto salvation, Romans 1:16-17. It is the only solution to overcome the eternal separation from God in hell that looms at the end of an unrepentant life. It is totally crazy to ignore and reject God's offer of hope, grace and love. Another has said, "Insane people are always sure they are fine. It is only sane people who are willing to admit that they are crazy." Sane people also know where to look for answers. Look no farther than Jesus and his church, Matthew 16:18-20. Sane people gladly grasp what God offers them in terms of reconciliation. "Be reconciled to God," 2 Corinthians 5:20. Do it today! Salvation is really the restoration of spiritual sanity! After making your peace with God through Jesus Christ, John 14:6, you may say, "I can see clearly now." Sanity, here we come. . . If you have already found it, preserve it.
Love you all,
Al--"the Horne of Africa"