Who Else Is In the Field?

“Pray do not imagine, that those who make the noise are the only inhabitants of the field.” – Edmund Burke

Often in life it seems it really is true that “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” We may infer from this old proverb that the squeaky wheel is in need of grease. But in real life, with real people, sometimes the noisiest of us is just the loudest. Hence, my quote from Mr. Burke above.

I am of the school of self-assessment and initiative. I like to fix the problems I see in my own environment. I would rather “be the change in the world” than complain and harass those who are not living up to my ideas of what the world should be.

That doesn’t mean that I’m sort of activist. Except for the fact that problems I see do activate me: they lead me to pray more and to deepen my relationship with a God who promised He will fight for me, for all of us, who seek the true, the good, and the beautiful. These three transcendental virtues are inseparable, as far as I am concerned. Just like the Holy Trinity. God is good, Jesus is the Truth, and the Holy Spirit makes everything He touches beautiful!

Sometimes beautiful is strength when you don’t have any more. Sometimes beauty is words to say to defend your beliefs and to spread the Good News when you can’t think of a one. Sometimes beautiful is patience and humility in the face of aggressiveness and arrogance. Sometimes beautiful is just knowing the Truth and the Good and those realities give you a peace that passes all understanding. That’s the best. It’s a peace the world does not know.

That is tragic, but one of our jobs is to be a light in the darkness of this world. I think it’s time for more of us to be that light. There’s a song that is based on Jesus’ words, “They’ll know we are Christians by our love.” Let’s love more and judge less. Let’s be patient and kind, humble and brave. Let’s look to our fearless Leader who stood strong (with a moment of weakness that makes Him so much more relatable and confirms that Jesus understands our pain) and took the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” out of love for us. His life, freely given, so we might live with Him forever.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be a grasshopper in Edmund Burke’s scenario; maybe I want to be a sparrow with a hopeful song that calms the heart and reminds us that God is always lovingly watching us and loving us so that everything can exist and be true, and good, and beautiful, if we’ll work with Him toward that end.

I’ve gone on too long already, but it just occurred to me that other inhabitants of the field are workers. But as Jesus says, there are too few of them. We’re to pray that more will join in. Let us pray.