As the year winds its way to a close, I just wanted to provide a note about what we’ve been up to:
Tony is completing the post-production on his new audio book, The Princess and Curdie, which is the sequel to The Princess and the Goblin, both by George McDonald.
He is also re-releasing his audio book of the novella, The Chimes, by Charles Dickens, on physical CD.
Beau has just finished a new short comic in his “Beau’s Shorts” series called, “Stuck Truck.”
I was thinking about each of these pieces, and realized that they all deal with the theme of betrayal. I once attended a seminar at which the keynote speaker was Naomi Haynes Griffith, the author of Red Clay and Vinegar. She spoke of the lessons she learned growing up in the South. Among other things, she said: “The greatest source of lying, is lying to ourselves.”
Why do we lie to ourselves (which is self-betrayal)? I think we try to remake reality into something more comfortable than it is with a lie. We shield ourselves from terrible truths by telling ourselves that it’s not as bad as it seems. We invent innocent reasons to explain why someone has done a horrible thing, because we don’t want to believe they were wicked. We excuse our faults by not facing the truth about our motivations. And this may seem innocent, because we are only playing mental games with ourselves to make life more bearable, right? But when we start to believe our own falsehoods, lies to ourselves become the foundation for lies to others.
In the novel, The Princess and Curdie, the story follows Curdie as he comes of age. He “accidentally” shoots one of grandmother’s pigeons early in the book, which forces him to look, clear-eyed, at his own life and motivations. His ruthless honesty in doing so earns him the respect of the old grandmother, who gifts him with the power to know the truth about a man by shaking his hand.
In other words, when Curdie confronted the truth about himself and made amends for what was wrong, he became able to discern the truth about others. Soon afterwards, he is sent on a quest to support the princess and save the king, and his newfound ability to know the truth with a handshake helps him do just that. One more note: this is a truly beautiful book.
The Princess and Curdie could have been written for a modern audience. It is easy to see how J. R. R. Tolkien took inspiration for the scene in The Two Towers when Gandalf confronts King Theoden. While Gandalf tries to tell King Theoden the truth, Wormtongue is whispering in the king’s ear, inflaming his fears, and stimulating the old king’s self-pity and desire for comfort.
The Chimes is a novella by Charles Dickens, written in 1844, just after he wrote A Christmas Carol. While A Christmas Carol takes place on Christmas Eve, and provides a way for the redemption of a terrible miser, The Chimes takes place on New Year’s Eve, and the main character is a victim who needs to understand that God made all men in his image, not just the socially-privileged ones!
It is a dark tale, a ghost story of sorts, along the same vein as “It’s a Wonderful Life,” only set in the 1840’s. (Where George Bailey threatens to jump off a bridge, Trotty Veck sees what would happen if he fell from the church belfry.) In this case, those entrusted to care for the public good care only for themselves, and betray the working poor, the disabled, the orphans, etc. Yes, it’s Dickens.
And the twist is that Dickens places the responsibility on poor Trotty to resist the slander, to not believe it, to not submit to that characterization. (I wonder if the emphasis on personal responsibility is what makes this book so rare.)
“Stuck Truck” is Beau’s latest edition of “Beau’s Shorts.” Dr. Dumb is the star of this one, and he introduces a new invention: E.R.I.C., his extra reliable ingenious consultant. ERIC is specifically designed to help Dr. Dumb figure out hard things, but he can’t help Dr. Dumb, because Dr. Dumb refuses to see the truth. Dr. Dumb wants an easier fix to the problem, so he keeps trying everything but what ERIC suggests. Poor ERIC; he was created to help but he can’t. What would you do?
In case you are wondering, this betrayal theme wasn’t planned; at least, we didn’t plan it. But sometimes things work like that. And when we start to see everything pointing in the same direction, it’s time to pay attention. God may have a message for us.
As this year winds down, I realize that it is a turning point in our lives, not just because the old year is almost over, but because of the way things have changed. It is a turning point in the life of our nation, too. I think almost everyone can feel it.
The question is, which way will it turn?
You’ll have to forgive me for using a story metaphor, but it seems like we are at that point in a murder mystery when all the suspects are gathered together in the parlor with the detectives, and the questioning begins. As the conversation continues, the terrible crime is revealed, and part of the reason why it’s so terrible is the identity of the perpetrator.
The bad guy is someone we, the audience, never expected, someone we had put above suspicion in our minds. We put him there partly because we trusted him, but also, partly because it was too terrible to admit to ourselves that this person, in their position of authority/trust/closeness to the victim, would actually betray and/or murder. And yet they did.
And what happens when everyone finally knows the truth?
If the prediction of the story-form is correct, the murderer will try to escape his fate, causing as much damage as possible on the way out. Therein lies the tension. Which innocent person will he or she savage in order to get out of the room and begin their flight?
The one in danger is that person who just can’t bring themselves to believe the newly-revealed truth: This person, whom they trusted all along, and maybe even told their secrets to, is not only a liar, but also a murderer. It takes a while to make those kind of internal mental adjustments, and during that time of adjustment is when the murderer will strike. He or she will mentally assess which person still wants to believe in him, because that person won’t have their guard all the way up.
Once he figures out who that slow-to-process person is, the murderer will strike, and then jump over the injured body to escape into the street. The job of the detective is to foresee all of this, and to protect that hapless person from the final insult of the murderer.
Ideally, the detective would have shared the information ahead of time with almost everyone but the murderer. But for some, that information isn’t enough. Their desire for the outcome to be something else is so strong, that they are blind to the awful truth, even when told plainly, with sworn affidavits, videos, witnesses, and physical evidence.
They have to hear from the trusted liar that he is, in fact, a liar. Hearing the truth from the liar’s mouth is the point of the gathering; but for those “Doubting Thomas-es”, there is a very short window of psychological adjustment time available.
Yes, that is where we are, at the moment of revelation. It is a dark time, but it’s always darkest right before the dawn. I praise God for the revelations, for all this must be, but God is fully in control, and He loves us more than we love ourselves. It helps so much to know that!
The real solution to betrayal, and to every kind of sin, is Jesus. He specializes in hard cases; nothing is too hard for him. He can turn water into wine and multiplied one loaf of bread and two fishes into enough food to feed 5,000. Sound incredible? That was thousands of years ago, and he has been active ever since. He has done so many personal miracles in our lives, and he is waiting to do the same for you. But most importantly, he can change our hearts from stone back into flesh, so we won’t be jaded anymore, and we can feel compassion and love. I know, because he changed mine. He’s the real thing, the answer for every problem.
Christians: If you don’t know what I’m talking about, or you don’t understand that God does miracles today, I get it. I was where you are for such a long time, and it’s so sad! The Lord wants to talk to us, to be close to us. He isn’t willing to settle for a prayer said years ago, anymore than you would call someone a friend that you met at a wedding several years ago but haven’t spoken to since. Talk to him, listen to Him. He is so much more interesting than we are, and He is waiting to inspire you and fill you with power! Start by reading the Bible and take it from there. He will draw you and show you when you wait on Him.
If you don’t know Jesus, but would like to know more about how he has saved the whole world, you can write to us at www.thefullersfour@protonmail.com, or just read about him in the book of John and the book of Romans in the New Testament. But really, the whole Bible is about Jesus. You can also pray directly to him and ask him to reveal himself. He is waiting to save whomever will call out to him. Just try it; you’ll see!
The Fullers Four 