Whose Side Are You On?

 

     When I was a brand new chaplain in the Army, my first assignment was with an Infantry unit.  Now, you need to understand something about the nature of that particular branch of the Army and that is this:  They do NOT like aviators much.  

     Their reason is valid and I discovered how true their sentiment was first-hand when I joined an Infantry squad on a little ruck march right after my arrival to the unit.  The 101st Infantry Division is an Air Assault division.  That means that they get to and from the battle by helicopter.  We had been dropped off in an LZ (Landing Zone) that was supposed to be about 800 meters from their objective.  In fact, the pilots got it wrong (and they told me it happened often).  In fact, we exited the aircraft about 2,800 meters from the objective.  For a pilot that is no problem.  At the rate they fly, 2,000 meters takes about 3 seconds to cover.  For the Infantryman, it takes about one to one and a half hours to go 1,000 meters depending on the terrain.  So that 2,000 meter mistake cost us about 3 extra hours of walking through the woods with an 80 pound rucksack on your back.  

    So I really understood how they felt.  There was just one problem that I had to overcome.  Before I became a chaplain, I was a helicopter pilot and had the senior aviator wings on my uniform to prove it.  If you ever saw that Far Side cartoon of the two deer in the woods, one with a huge bulls-eye on his stomach, and the caption was , "Bummer of a birthmark Hal!"  Well, that is kind of how I felt.  I was the chaplain for this infantry unit and I had a huge bulls-eye on my uniform in the shape of those confounded aviator wings.

     Needless to say, I had to go an extra distance to prove to these guys that I was credible.  So you can understand how bad it was when it was announced that we were going to have a pickup basketball game that afternoon.  It was the battalion staff against the company commanders and first sergeants.  So my boss was on my team along with all the guys I had to work with every day.  

     Now, for those who know me, this goes without saying. But if you do not know me well, then you may not know that this event was significant for me because I am not, and never was, an athlete.  In high school I was the smallest guy in my Senior Class.  I take that back, I was the smallest PERSON in my graduating class.  Seriously.  

     To look at me now you would never believe that.  But when I started my senior year in high school, I was five foot three and I weighed about 98 pounds.  Really.  Needless to say, I was never asked to be on any sports team.  My thing in high school was music (think Glee).  Seriously.  I was the last guy (after all the girls) when people were picking people for their team.  Music was a much better fit because I was very unlikely to get hurt doing that.  

     So when I heard about this basketball game I became a little nervous, no I take that back.  I was VERY nervous because I was already on shaky ground with this unit because of my bulls-eye.  Now I was going to be exposed for the wimp I was by this basketball game.  

     Well, the time came and I showed up at the gym in the appropriate garb and the game began.  Because I had no idea what I was doing, I found myself just running back and forth on the court watching everyone else pass the ball back and forth and running to and from their respective goals.  I figured that I would just try to stay out of the way and maybe I would avoid embarrassment.  Then it happened.  

     One of the guys went up for a layup (I learned that term for that move later) and missed.  The ball bounced off of the backboard and landed in my hands.  Excited and nervous, I jumped and shot the ball at the goal and it dropped straight in -- nothing but net!  

     What happened next was kind of like those old E.F. Hutton commercials.  You know, "When E.F Hutton speaks,... everybody would stop what they were doing and listened.  Well after I made the shot the entire game came to a screeching halt.  I looked around and noticed the look that said, "I can't believe you just did that."  This look was on the faces of both of the teams on the court.  Then one of the guys on my team said, "Chaplain, our goal is at the other end of the court."

     I had successfully made the shot to the opposing teams goal.   If I could have found a way to slide under the boards of that basketball court I would have done it at that moment.  Needless to say I was never invited to play basketball again.  Ever.

     Now what is the point of this story?  I am glad you asked.  I am reminded of an Old Testament passage of Joshua just before the fall of Jericho.  Joshua 5:13-14, reads, "Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” Then Joshua fell face down to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?”
      A lot of times we get a great idea and then we want God to bless our efforts.  That is what Joshua thought.  That is why he asked the question, "Whose side are you on?  By the context it appears to be a rhetorical question.   I mean after all, he was the leader of God's chosen people.  But this guy, probably an angel, kind of set the record straight. God does not choose sides.  Here is the point, we need to choose God's side.  That means that we need to see what God is doing and join HIM in his efforts.  He is the team captain, we have simply been invited to join HIS team.  When we get that straight then we will find ourselves in the listening mode. 


Joshua got it.  Look at what he said at the end of that passage.  He fell face down to the ground in reverence -- right attitude; then he asked, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?"  Wait for God to speak and then follow the orders of the commander.  Then we can see walls come tumbling down.  So, whose side are you on?