Beyond the Mask

Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this. —Ecc. 7:10

The Christian film, Beyond the Mask, encouraged viewers to go beyond the appearance of things and get to the heart of the matter. This is not a new concept as God told Samuel the same thing just before he anointed David as King over Israel. (1 Samuel 16:7) It does, however, serve to remind us that it is easy to get caught up in all that we see going on around us and judge a circumstantial judgment rather than a righteous judgment.

The times in which we find ourselves have received social and political comment from every possible angle over the last six months. We have heard from the medical community, the political community, the religious community, the financial community and every community in between. Churches have been ordered to shut down by political leaders even as these same leaders encouraged rioting. What do we make of all this? The commentator Paul Harvey said, “In times like these, we must always remember there have been times like these.” The specifics may be different, but the spirit of the age that leads to such polarization has always been at work in the history of the world.

It is truly a shame that we don’t learn from history past, as it all but guarantees a repeat of the lesson in the future. Regardless of life circumstances, we will never have complete agreement on how things should be. While I chose to believe that most in power have the best interest of all as their focus, I do acknowledge that some will always be about their personal agendas, unwilling to let a good crisis go to political or financial waste. Again, this is not new. While tens of thousands of lives on both sides were being lost in the Civil War, neighbors and businessmen were using it as an opportunity to get rich off of the sacrifices of others. Although encouraged to grow food for the Southern cause, many plantation owners continue to grow only the cash crops of cotton and tobacco that could be smuggled into the North for tremendous profits. Sam Colt sold his famous guns to individuals for $14.50 but initially charged the U.S. government $25 for the same weapon. The Union’s wealthy could pay someone else to take their place for a modern-day sum of $6,200.

Riots? Yes, that too was a problem back in the Civil War time. The 1863 Draft Riot resulted from middle class workers fears of losing their jobs to free blacks, thus causing the deaths of up to 660 people and the destructions of numerous public buildings, including churches and homes of individuals who had abolitionist leanings. One commander observed that martial law should have been invoked but there were not enough soldiers available to make it happen. Like today, many blamed sensational and subjective reporting by journalists for inciting fear among many of the cities inhabitants, creating the waters for the perfect social storm. More interesting yet, many of the rioters were not even from New York but had come from Philadelphia and Baltimore to fuel the rioting. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

The political scene was not better. President Lincoln would have most assuredly been sent back home to Illinois after his first term if the Union troops had not secured victory in Pennsylvania just a few months before the fall election. Earlier on in the war, the Democratic mayor of New York wanted to claim independence from the state capitol at Albany and the federal capitol in D.C. because the textile mills in the state were totally dependent upon the South to supply their raw materials, including cotton. This mayor was voted out of office in the subsequent election, only to be followed by the Republican, George UpDyke, who was indicted—but not convicted—of war profiteering himself. Corruption was on both sides of the aisle.

The lesson for us to learn is that there will always be lessons to be learned. With all the challenges that Covid-19 presents, death, sickness, rioting, government overreach, financial devastation, lack of true journalism and profiteering, we must remember the historic grass was no greener on the previous side. It is therefore incumbent upon us as homeschooling parents to teach our children several things, including looking to God alone as their source; seeking to walk in personal integrity; staying grounded in spite of the changing social and political seasons; being willing to make necessary sacrifices; knowing their history; fighting for those who are too weak to fight for themselves and always standing for righteousness. In the 1860’s it was the Civil War. In 2020 it is the Coronavirus. Thirty years from now, it will bear a new name with the same symptoms. We must look beyond the mask of social appearance to find our peace in the sovereign will of God.