Marching off the Map

Growing up in the 1950’s, the summer vacation (by car) was the pivotal event of the year. The destination was chosen, the oil was changed, the tire pressure was checked, and the ham sandwiches were lovingly made and packed into the metal cooler (complete with a screw off drain cap held securely by a small chain). A quick check of the free map from the Sunoco station and we were off, usually by 4:00 am. We’ve come a long way in 60 years. The paper map has given way to the GPS or Google Maps on the iPhone. Don’t get me wrong; a GPS can be a great tool, but the good old paper map still has its place. GPS units tend to give a sort of tunnel vision that causes drivers to focus so much on the route that they fail to see the full picture of the road in front of them. Take for instance the three women on their way to a shopping excursion following their GPS’s instructions to the letter so faithfully that they drove right down a boat ramp and into a lake. Neither driver nor passengers noticed anything amiss until it was too late; they were just doing as they were told. (GPS units can make mistakes.) They had missed the big picture. Halford Luccock tells a story of Alexander the Great and the importance of maps. After Alexander’s unprecedented string of victories which allowed him to further his travels from Asia Minor through Persia and into Afghanistan, his generals came to him one day and informed him, “We don’t know what to do next. We have marched off the map.” That’s it; that’s the problem with many Christians and particularly many in the Christian Church. They’ve lost sight of the big picture. Tunnel vision has replaced perspective. They are so intent on demanding that all people buy into their particular interpretation of the scriptures that they can’t see the worth in anyone who doesn’t hold their views. Their opinions on things moral and ethical are made to appear as the only model for living. Could it be that they have marched off the map? Maybe. My purpose here is not to expose or attempt to change the ultra-conservative Christian Right. That would require more than these few paragraphs. Rather, my purpose is to offer an alternative. Take another long look at your map. Are you still on course? Have you marched off the map? Is it time to turn (‘shuv’ in Hebrew) and get back on track?