Belief in Belief is an Empty Sheath

Spirituality Column #219
January 18, 2011
Current in Carmel - Current in Westfield - Current in Noblesville
(Indianapolis north suburban home newspapers)

Belief in Belief is an Empty Sheath
By Bob Walters

I recently saw a poster titled “Believe” on a schoolroom wall.

Superimposed over a pleasant picture of a farm field was a parable about an old, blind horse that could pull a heavy wagon by itself as long as the farmer called out the names of several other horses in addition to its own. The moral of the poster is that because the horse “believed” it was hitched with a team, it found extra strength to pull the wagon alone.

Yeah, well. It’s a charming story for a moment, depicting overachievement and trust. In a spiritually sanitized school setting, it bespeaks personal perseverance, community effort and shared task. People helping people. Strength in numbers. I’ll never walk alone. It takes a village, etc.

But think about it; does the poster describe a belief worth having? To believe – or more pointedly, to be tricked into believing – that something strong, helpful and important is with us when it’s really not? Belief in a … lie?

Beyond the behavioral genius of the farmer, the poster’s context tells us – as do so many entities in our society and culture – to simply “believe.” Tricks and behavioralism, idols and false gods, are fine. Just, believe.

Ever been told to “believe in yourself”? How about to believe in a cause? Believe in a sports team or sports star? Believe to achieve? Believe everything will work out just fine?

The horse poster tells us to “believe” in things that aren’t permanent, lack ultimate truth, and, in this specific case, aren’t even there. Just, believe.

In a world created by God, visited and saved by Jesus Christ and indwelt with the Holy Spirit, my belief, faith and trust reside in the palpable reality that my help, my Lord, is really there. God is not a phantom team of horses.

Rather than debating our religious differences, let’s just say that under any circumstances it is empty sloganeering to have a relationship merely with the word “believe.” A relationship with God through Jesus Christ is the only proper context for knowing the bedrock permanence of belief that matters.

My wonderful old pastor Russ Blowers, now deceased, always had his Bible with him. “I never go anywhere without my sword,” he’d say. Ephesians 6:17 calls the Bible “the sword of the Spirit.”

Remove God and God’s word, and there is no sword in the sheath of belief.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) was initially encouraged to see the “Believe” poster in a public school classroom. Now he just feels sorry for the horse.