Yesterday while reading The Churchill Factor: How One Man Made History by Boris Johnson, there was a sentence that fast-forwarded me to right now. The author was depicting France's capitulation to the Nazi threat and the pressure that was placed on Churchill to negotiate with Hitler prior to the Battle of Britain. He indicated that the French military was an "...origami army: they just kept folding with almost magical speed" (Page 20). What a powerful word picture, an origami army, folding and folding till there was a semblance of military organization. Origami men! Folded to the shape of the master. In that case, folded to the whims of a madman, Adolf Hitler.
Being a participant in the recent Reagan, Thatcher, Pope John Paul II tour with Gov. Mike Huckabee occasioned up-close exposure to the people of spine who won that war and brought change to the world in it's aftermath. With a passion for leadership, I am wondering why culture suddenly cheers the antics of origami men again, those who have folded to norms and political expediencies distant from truth and moral integrity. Origami men, indeed!
On the trip we spoke of praying, and what exactly should be our prayer today. Since God has given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1: 3), since Jesus promised that in the hour of our test we would be given words to speak (Luke 12:12), since He promsied to be with us at all places and at all times (Matthew 28:20), since we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthaisn 2:16), I am a little mystified when we continually pray for those things He has already graciously provided. My personal prayer moves me in another direction. It is that we wil have the spine to endure, the strength of character that insists we stand and not fold under the weight of a dark culture.
It's pandemic in the church world these days, the ease with which we fold. It may be one of the reasons 1,700 pastors walk away from ministry every single month, being worn out by folding, a crisis of character when a called person just can't fold anymore. It's one of the reasons I've launched this whole next chapter of Christian service, the dream of helping ministers find the courage to stand. It's the recovery of spine, the personal character of Christ in us!
Paul said it best. "Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong (1 Corinthians 16:13).
Origami men? You've got to be kidding me.