The HBB Returns
And it came to pass that the conscience of the HBB smote him sore, for he had left off posting. And he thought within himself, “Dost thou leave off posting simply because some people gripe about what thou sayest? Thou doest not well.” (Yet, he ceased not to post for that reason alone, for there were things which weighed heavy on his heart; yea and mirth left him for a season.)
Yet he came to himself, saying, “Shall I not once again write that my readers may rejoice?”
And he did.
And he spake the Parable of the Beachy Samaritan.
A certain young Beachy undertook a journey, and lo, he fell among the thieves. (For he picked up some hitchhikers, and that’s not a great idea, as I trust we all know.) And behold, the thieves fell upon him and smote him. Yea, they beat the living daylights out of him, besides, and there wasn’t much he could do, being nonresistant and all, so he pretty much got worked over and tossed in the ditch, after which they roared off in his Honda Civic, leaving him for dead.
And it wasn’t long after this that his Bishop stopped by and behold! the young Beachy lay sprawled in the ditch, bleeding and shivering from shock.
And the Bishop picked up his Cell Phone and did put upon the Hot Line-an Announcement that there should be a Men’s Meeting to deal with this situation.
So the men of the church gathered around the young Beachy, and convened thier meeting.
And one member spake of the importance of staunching the flow of blood with a tourniquet, and another said that they never used to do that when he was growing up.
And a third spoke of how important it was to make sure the patient was comfortable, and a fourth berated him for his spirit of always seeking ease and comfort.
Another used the opportunity to illustrate why there should be a written statement of practices in the event that something like this happened, and still another declared how he wanted to see the church leadership get involved in the situation. This, of course, led to a heated argument about the nature of church authority, and if your church has ever had a discussion on that subject, you are aware that by the time it was over, no one had changed in thier positions on the issue, although blood pressures were notably higher.
Then it was time for a passionate speech, complete with cracking voice and misty eyes, about those bleeding individuals around us who desperately needed a caring hand to reach out to them.
The meeting went late into the night, and the men all went home without even realizing that the young Beachy had by this time been dead for hours from lack of medical attention.
Thus they missed the lesson that I hope you as readers will learn and apply in your Day-to-Day Walk of Life™.
Talking about a problem neither fixes it, nor causes it to go away.
But the Men’s Meetings continue…
Regards,
HBB
prodigal daughter wrote,
Thank you, thank you, HBB. The Lord must have spoken to me through you, for these Men’s Meetings are driving me bonkers. Nothing is being made better, only discord being sown.
Link | September 19th, 2008 at 10:03 am
A mennonite girl wrote,
The saddest part is folks are dying (Spiritually), while these kinds of meetings take place. You are a gifted writer but much more than that, you are extremely insightful! Blessings!
Link | September 19th, 2008 at 11:11 am
zook wrote,
I’ve never been to a men’s meeting, and made my exit before they became popular, but knew a Mennonite Sister who was the blunt of a men’s meeting. Well, an important men’s meeting was called by the deacon to discuss a problem. Ms. Sister and her 5 fatherless children were costing too much to the church. In fact, his ledger showed that her expenses were even more than what some of the faithful men earned in a year. A vote was taken to cease all church support for Ms. Sister. All men were cautioned against “talking” about this problem to the sisters and of course, to Ms. Sister or her 5 fatherless children. Ms Sister had no idea what happened at the meeting, but the following days and weeks marked a sudden difference in her gospel friends. Some were not nice, and down right mean, whearas others were very compassionate to make up for their neighbors insensitivity.
Since non of the 5 children were yet 18 and eligible to go to men’s meeting, no one in family could defend themselves against the accusations. As with most communities, word leaked back to Ms. Sister and knowing that tithes and offerings were NOT showing up in her bank account–but rather that she lived meagerly off child labor, making her own soap and using salvaged furniture in her airy house, she wondered where the money was going that was recorded in the ledger. The night I went to visit her, the youngest fatherless son–a handicapped child from birth–had a severe reaction from a medication and there was no money for salve to sooth the flaming red rash. Meanwhile, the deacon lived in a new house with a paved driveway and dined sumptiously every day. He didn’t need to worry about dispersing more sisterhood assistance because the men’s meeting voted against it–as he had planned.
Realizing she was in the midst of corruption, she ejected to the nearest Beachy church. Now she has friends, the finances are stable, the kids grew up and married and all is well.
Link | September 19th, 2008 at 9:40 pm
Conservative Christian Beachy wrote,
That is too true to be funny.
Link | September 23rd, 2008 at 7:44 am
David wrote,
I havn’t read all of your stuff, but have you ever considered the subject of wealth? Maybe wealth is the main reason for our lack of real christianity.
Link | September 28th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
2nd Cuz Karen wrote,
HBB: Glad to see you’re “back.” Wonder “where” you went and why. Still praying for your full recovery — mind, soul and body. Send me an e-mail when you get a chance. God bless you.
Link | October 22nd, 2008 at 1:51 pm