Death or Glory

Good Thursday morning! On this day in 1876 the news of another Indian massacre circulated through the nation. Shock, outrage, demands for swift justice, and other emotional reactions swept the land. Later, probably too late, a few somewhat less than heroic facts began to emerge from the fog of combat in the distant west. Custer possessed tools of war he had left behind, ignored intelligence from his scouts, disobeyed orders to wait for the main army forces coming from the north, split his small force even smaller, and attacked against overwhelming odds. Of course his command got overwhelmed and massacred. In looking and guessing from the distance of many years, I wonder if Custer did not have an addiction to the death or glory of battle. He did earn glory in the Civil War, perhaps he continued to seek it until that one fateful day when he gained the other side of the coin.

Why do we think through these things in a Christian devotional? Should the subject of Custer and the Battle of the Little Bighorn not belong to a history blog perhaps? I think we must strive to understand our neighbors. How do we love them if we do not know them at all? Around us are veterans of military service, some in wartime and others in peace. Veterans are a minority, something like 3% of the population I read once. What motivates and fascinates those who never served their country in the military? Often we know so little about our neighbors; is the love Christ commanded okay with a vague knowledge of names and workplaces? Is there a 'Custer' living next to you or me that we do not understand and so cannot effectively bring our witness to him? Probably not, the Plains Wars ended before most of our grandparents were born. However, we may live next to warriors or poets, quilters or quacks, bricklayers or bookkeepers, lawyers or house cleaners, teachers or tradesmen, musicians or maintenance managers, uh, 'quilters or quacks'?! Where did that come from? Learning about our neighbors may be a step toward loving them as Christ loves us. Sometimes you may learn that your neighbor's mind works in a strange place early in the morning. Not sure who that might be...

Love and blessings to you in Christ our Lord,
Bucky