MOTHER’S CHICKS
By F. I. LEMLEY

Vance Packard in his book, STATUS SEEKERS, points out that we people are somewhat like chickens in that we develop a well defined “pecking order” and each seems to know instinctively just whom he can peck without fear of sudden retribution. This is likewise true of animals and many times we have observed a small cow with sharp horns occupying the doorway to large shelter, keeping the whole herd out in the storm.

One of the cherished memories of childhood is that of watching my mother tend her incubator in the cellar. In the early morning the sun came through the door just right to provide light for turning and candling the eggs. It was my privilege as a boy to watch many times as the chicks pipped the eggs and laboriously worked their ways out of the shells. The little wet chick would tumble, fall and scramble over his unhatched brothers until he found the light in front of the tray. Soon he was dry and fluffy and as uniform with the other little leghorns as peas in a pod.

Sometimes later, as the chicks developed, trouble would arise. On some rare occasions little Bill (to dramatize the story) would find some defect either real or imaginary on the back of little Jimmy and immediately call attention to it by giving Jimmy a hefty peck. Other brothers attracted by the sudden activity would join gleefully in the dubious business of removing little Jimmy’s defect. Sometimes the process would continue until one would draw blood. This in turn attracted many others who joined in the chase until eventually little Jimmy would be found lying in a corner bleeding and with his innards exposed. While all this was going on, perhaps there would be nearby a number of adult chickens congregated around a wise old rooster who stood nonchalantly by with a gleam in his eye, head held high, and chuckling as roosters do. On reflection I think I can hear this wise old rooster saying, “You know, specks and spots are dangerous things. Once a fellow gets one of them there is no end to where it may lead him! Another thing, One should never bleed when he is wounded for blood attracts too much attention!” I’m sure I have correctly determined the meaning of the gleam in his eye. It was a “Sorry-son-but-we-have-to-keep-the-flock-pure” look.

Later in my youth as I attended a small country school, I saw a very similar thing happen on a more sophisticated level among boys. One boy was a bit different from the rest, so much so that he became the butt of jokes, the object of mischief done, and the recipient of all sorts of inhumane treatment from his fellows. He seemed to be at the bottom of the “pecking order”. One day during recess while the teachers were well out of hearing distance, some of the school bullies removed this boy’s shoes forcibly, and taking some strong cord they hanged “ole Lofton” from the rafters of the coal bin by his big toes. They were oblivious to his pleadings for mercy and his cries of pain. The onlookers, of whom I was one, in the face of the size of the bullies and their mischievous disposition, melt helpless to render any constructive assistance to the abused. Some of us did tell the teacher but he couldn’t do anything about it for the reason that his information was second hand, and too, it was a sort of ‘Your-word-against-mine” situation. Seeing that some of the guilty boys were sons of school board members and prominent community families, the teacher prudently decided not to hazard his bread and butter by upsetting the status quo. He decided to “go slow” and allow time to take care of the situation.

As I have grown older and more observing, again and again similar atrocities have been observed on a yet more sophisticated level in churches. This is not confined to anyone church, but the same processes work in not only churches of Christ but others. People are still somewhat like chickens in spite of our religion and sophistication. Because of this uncontrolled bent of human nature, many honest and sincere brethren striving to “keep the flock pure” have attempted to remove a speck from their brother’s eye and as a result have begun a “pecking process” that not only removed the speck but removed the brother. If a brother does survive such a “Spot-removing” process many times the scars and wounds are so deep that they never completely heal. While this spot removing process is going on many who should be wise enough to prevent the damage take a neutral position and justify themselves by saying, “Too bad! Too bad! But we have to keep the flock pure, you know!” Some are heard to say, “That only goes to prove that once a man begins to “weaken” and begins to question the faith of the fathers (one generation removed) there is no end to where he may end up!”

Most of such comments are no more than rationalizations that miss the point of the trouble entirely. As this scribe sees it, there may be several alternatives in answer to the real problem. First, one may by God’s grace develop such a disposition that he can submit to crucifixion gracefully and like Jesus pray for his tormentors. This is admirable! There is always the possibility that one may become so calloused that he becomes insensitive so that he may refuse to bleed when wounded. It is not good for one to become insensitive to his fellows and to the needs of those about him. Forbid the thought, but one might surrender his own mind to the local “hierarchy” in such a situation, but this would be detestable. Or perhaps those who are so bent on “spot-removing” might possibly be taught to be more tolerant.

If such could be persuaded to reexamine their own position, great results might be experienced. But usually the man with a “log” in his own eye, and who doesn’t know it, may be quite intolerant of specks in the eyes of his brethren. Such seem to be the most stubborn and the most zealous about keeping the flock pure. Even a remote suggestion that they should reexamine their own beliefs is repulsive to them for as some say “Everybody knows that this has been right for years and any question on this point is unthinkable.” Those who talk loudest and longest about UNITY and who have the pat answers on how it is to be accomplished by all coming to God’s Word, the Bible, and all accepting exactly what it says, etc., etc., are most usually the ones who differ the most widely on interpretations and hold most stubbornly to human traditions. When a man cannot distinguish between God’s Word and his own interpretation of God’s Word he is in bad shape. Strange as it may seem the brotherhood is filled with preachers who are otherwise intelligent and above reproach who cannot distinguish the difference in the SEED OF THE KINGDOM and the MILK and MEAT OF THE WORD. These are two different categories of scripture and serve two different functions entirely. One begets spiritual life, and the other sustains life after it is produced.

Another way of trying to solve the pecking problem is to fly the coop if you are a chicken or leave the church if you are a nonconformist. Many have tried this solution in self defense and never have they been accepted for what they really are. Usually they are falsely accused by their brethren of being turncoats, traitors to the cause, insincere opportunists who have no convictions. The path of the nonconformist is about as rugged as that of the transgressor (Prov. 13:15). Paul warned about the dangers of biting and devouring one another (Gal. 5:15).

As long as the world shall stand there are going to be brethren who think ahead of the herd, who love to explore, who love mental gymnastics and who will not surrender their minds to any but Christ. There has never been nor will there ever be a uniformity of interpretation of scripture. Such need not be for us to have the UNITY for which Christ prayed. The sooner we learn these things the sooner the situation will improve. God has made provisions for differences of human judgment. Our problem is to learn that our own human judgment is not God’s Holy Word. Unity of interpretation can never be achieved in the field of human judgment. To illustrate, if God said “Farmer Jones has 100 head of livestock!” That is God’s word. But if God said, “Farmer Jones has 50 sheep, 30 cows, 19 pigs and one dog”, and leaves it to us to arrive at a sum total, the sum total, right or wrong, is human judgment. Any time we have to go through a process of human reasoning to arrive at a conclusion, the conclusion may be correct or it may be incorrect but it is human judgment! All our brotherhood issues fall in the area of human judgment for all depend upon the fine art of human reasoning. God has made provisions for errors in this department.

It is refreshing to read and hear of efforts between estranged brethren to come to a better understanding of one another by discussion together. Several attempts have been made to reestablish communication with some success. This is commendable! Some are trying to discuss the issues long enough and in the spirit of inquiry and tolerance so that all may come to the same conclusions and thus end specific divisions. They are following their convictions that all must agree in order to unite. They will not have gone far until they discover that this process will take an eternity. Where two or more disagree and must come to agreement it is quite obvious that one or both must capitulate, abdicate, or compromise his present position. If the principals in such discussion sincerely but unconsciously occupy the throne of God as most factionist do, neither can afford to condescend to his brother. With this system, SOMETHING has to give! That something may be one’s integrity, his doctrine, his conscience, or his intolerance of difference. It is literally impossible to bring all the brethren to the same degree of growth, knowledge, and degree of faith at the same instant. And if this is not done, then someone must arbitrarily select the issues on which we MUST agree and those on which we may tolerate disagreement.

If brethren could be caused to realize that our UNITY in Christ is in our FAITH and not in our interpretation of the Book (Bible), then we might eventually come to see that differences are not only inevitable but desirable. They serve a good purpose! It should be noted that all of us believe in the same identical Christ and have all surrendered our hearts and lives to him in obedience to the extent of our knowledge and ability. Yet our individual faith differs in intensity, our knowledge may span the whole spectrum of the known, and our abilities may differ beyond comparison. No one can learn from another who does not know more than he knows, and as long as Christians grow in grace and knowledge there of necessity must be differences. Differences provide exercise for our growth and spiritual health.

Now, the job of unifying the brethren would be simple if all could be convinced that if we ever have unity we must have it in DIVERSITY. We can and do have uniformity of doctrine and practice in the SEED department. We all have faith in the same Christ and all surrender to the same Bible Authority, having determined to obey Christ to the extent of our knowledge and ability. This is all the uniformity the Lord ever has expected or required. In the MILK and MEAT department our taste may differ, our digestion may vary, and our preparation process may differ. God expects this, for this is the area of Human Judgment. Our unity is therefore in the processes of reproduction and not in the cooking and digestion processes. Some people seem to like raw meat, burned toast, and hard eggs. Others are a bit more refined in their taste for spiritual food.

Realizing these things, our issues over cups, classes, cooperation, instrumental music etc., cease to be matters of life or death unless one’s conscience becomes involved so that his spiritual system requires his food prepared in this way. We must allow our brethren the privilege of holding diverse views and satisfying their own conscience on matters of human reasoning, logic, and interpretation of God’s word. None of our divisive brotherhood issues have anything to do with our becoming children of God, therefore should have nothing to do with our brotherhood unity. I have no control over who may become my brother as God regulates this. Once a man is my brother in Christ I have no right to be more demanding of him than God who received him, and if God received him while he embraced a defect and intended to practice it, then I must receive him as God has received me and my brother, in spite of our defects.

This is essentially the solution set forth in Romans 14 and unless we learn the lesson we are forever doomed to the life of a chicken, pecking and abusing, ever learning but never being able to discover truth. Once we learn these things, brotherhood issues fade into a position of that which can be tolerated, and cease to occupy a position of grave importance as matters of life or death.

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F. L. Lemley is one of the ministers of the Wheat Ridge Heights Church of Christ, 5925 W. 32nd Ave., Denver, Colorado 80212.