Today’s Scripture Reading (November
11, 2019): Ecclesiastes 11
In my
part of the world, today is Remembrance Day, a day that honors those who fought
in the wars that have plagued our modern world. The date is significant. It is
the day that the Armistice was signed, ending the First World War. On the
eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, World War One finally
came to an end. The conflict was initially called the “War to End all Wars,” a
war that seemed to draw everyone into its struggle. Of course, war did not end
all wars. In 1939, the process all started again, followed by the Korean War in
the 1950s, the Vietnam war which lasted for two decades from 1955 to 1975.
Since then, we have experienced wars in Iraq and Syria and the Middle East that
once again seems to have had the capability of spreading beyond their national
boundaries. Conflict in the last century and a half seems to have become a
world affair.
Sometimes
we can question that assertion. And the questions are okay. Is it necessary for
North America to become involved in a European conflict or a Middle East
conflict? After all, the fighting is so far away from our homes. Shouldn’t we
let it fight out on their terms, while we stay at peace? But the problem is
that we live in a global world. We can say we prefer to live in a national one
where our problems stop at the borders of our country, but that is a dream that
is now more than a hundred years in our rearview mirror. The world is
drastically smaller, and the truth is that what happens in Las Vegas does not
stay in Las Vegas, no matter what the advertisements might proclaim. What
happens in Europe is a world problem. What happens in Africa is a world
problem. And what happens in the Middle East is a world problem. What happens
in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East will have an impact on the Americas,
even though they are separated from the source of the conflict by an ocean. And
the choice is that we either try to step into a battle in the early days and
try to keep it from our shores, or we wait until the war reaches our shores, we
wait until the next attack on New York, or Los Angeles, Mexico City, Toronto,
or even Sao Paulo, and hope that it won’t be too late to get involved.
This
proverb of the Teacher seems to originate from a time when sending your product
for trade to a foreign nation was a chancy proposition. Sometimes your product
didn’t arrive safely at the foreign land. And even if it did, you were playing
a very long game. Profit could be delayed for months or even years. But, if you
wanted to advance yourself economically, you had to take the risk. Playing it
safe would often mean struggling on the edge of poverty. And so you would ship
your grain or lumber on the water to a foreign land hoping that you were
setting yourself up for success at some point in the future.
Maybe
modern business is a little safer than it was in ancient days. But still, being
active in exporting products across an ocean can mean a delay between the
moment of investment and the day when that investment finally pays off.
In
foreign policy, our investments are a little less clear. Did the American
involvement in the Middle East mean that the 9/11 attacks were not repeated, at
least not to the same degree? If the United States had gotten involved in World
War II before the Pearl Harbor bombings, could the attack on Hawaii have been
prevented? The problem is that we don’t know, but working toward peace in this
world is a goal that we all have to commit to, that means dealing with some of
the bad actors who are stirring up trouble far from our shores. Cast your bread
upon the water, and maybe it will return to you.
And for
those who have fought across the water and have tried to protect the peace in
our world by dealing with the tyrants that only want to advance their own goals,
we thank you with our entire beings for your service.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes
12
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