By Alvin Petty
Scriptures to read which are the basis of this article: Numbers 11: 1-6; Galatians 5:1; and Phillipians 3: 13.
The fleshpots of Egypt found in Numbers 11: 1-6 are part of the story of Israel’s Exodus from slavery in Egypt. The Israelites were finding the journey to freedom full of hardships. Here they complain about the monotony of their diet of manna, a very light stuff which falls from the Tamarask tree in this region. It is sweet and nutritious if you eat about a quart of it. It was sold in the 1950’s in vacuum jars by Israelis to Christian tourists.
These fleshpots were what fed the Israelites when they were slave laborers in Egypt. In their hardships they complained and wished to go back to these fleshpots, back to familiarity and some security. They were already forgetting that it was slavery which resulted in being worked to death at an early age. The pursuit of freedom is always demanding of great personal responsibility from us.
These fleshpots symbolize for us the forces of backward pull that operate upon us when we hit snags of hardship, tiredness, discouragement in our pursuit of good goals. We get a little depressed and we complain and gripe and sometimes long to go back to what we are familiar with instead of pursuing our new adventure. If we are not careful the forces of backward pull will always destroy all our forward progress in our ventures to become our best most creative and free selves. We cannot be fully free unless we keep striving to become our best creative selves.
What is wrong with us? We fear and let our fears guide us instead of our faith. Then we gripe and complain which is one of the worst sins of this Old Testament story. Complainers always end up defeated.
Still we are always returning to some form of slavery in our past. People go back to bad abusive marriages, or their old job giving up on their dream of becoming an independent business person, or out of prison with some good training for a new vocation, they return to their old neighborhood where the backward pull of losers around them soon has them trapped in their old destructive habits. But if they go to a new environment they usually do well and do not go back to jail.
Remember Jesus said that no one who has laid his hand to the plow and then looks back is fit for the kingdom or rule of God. Every farmer knows that to make straight rows on flat ground you must keep your eyes on the mark or goal that lies ahead. You must never look back.
Mr. Comstock was the original owner of the great silver and gold strike of Western Neveda in 1859. He believed there was rich ore on his property somewhere. But he dug and dug, worked and worked and became tired and discouraged. He sold his holding for a pittance. The new owners dug three more feet and hit the Comstoke Load which did not play out until 1890. He should have kept pressing forward. A lot of us have good ideas but we quit too soon.
Martin Luther King’s great speech was, “I Have a Dream.” God wants us all to have a dream, a vision of hope and improvement and chase after it all our life long. It does not matter if we do not completely achieve it. What matters is that we keep pressing forward and make progress. This will always mean taking on new adventures.
We have an old song, “Give me that old time religion; it is good enough for me!” Well it is not good enough for me. In its historical context it may have been good enough for those who first conceived it. But the moment that generation passed away, it needed new interpretations, insights and direction to be truly good for the new historical context. It needed new theological ideas. Without these, the old time religion becomes a backward pull to forms of religious and social enslavement like the fleshpots of Egypt.
So let us trust in the Lord’s provision even if it seems a little boring. Let us also be thankful for that provision. Thanksgiving in all things, even the little things of life, contributes much to our being free and creative. Griping is always a force of backward pull.
We must learn to be content in whatever circumstances we are in. (Phil. 3:13). This enables us to press forward toward our good goals. Being content does not mean you can not be aggressive to better yourself.
For example, a thirteen year old boy in the Great Depression applied for an office errand boy job which was advertised in the Sunday paper. For a teen-ager to have any kind of a job in this era was remarkable. He got up early, groomed well, putting on his Sunday suit. He got to the interview site 40 minutes early only to find 22 other boys ahead of him.
He thought, “I will never even get to speak to the boss!” But then he had a bold idea. He wrote a little note, folded it neatly and took it to the receptionist and most politely said, “Would you please give this to your boss Mr. Johnson. It is urgent.” The receptionist unfolded the note, read and smiled. She rose and said that she would give it to him immediately.
The receptionist returned to her desk. Mr. Johnson came out and called boy number 23 in. He got the job. His note to Mr. Johnson read, “Dear Mr. Johnson, I am number 23 in line. It is of the utmost importance that you not do anything until you see me!”
Finally, we need to ignore the rabble whose negative talking will drain us of our creative energy and halt our forward progress. We must always forget the things that are behind us and press forward towards God’s goals for us.
