We won’t get there by looking back

The road of life is not smooth. It is full of bumps and potholes. I know of no human being who has avoided all of life’s rough spots. We all have scars that remind us that life is not always pleasant. As a minister who served as pastor of churches for 50 years, I have listened to an incredible array of stories about past catastrophes. My calling as a minister was to point people to a new destination on down the road.

My Baptist Bible quoting roots serve me well. In the third chapter of Paul’s letter to the Philippians he writes, “… one thing I do, forgetting what is behind, I strain forward to what lies ahead.” He goes on to insist that it is this perspective that marks maturity. Paul described the goal of his future as the “high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” As long as he kept his focus on that goal, the hurts of the past did not matter.

The dynamic of which Paul wrote does not change the past. He had been jailed, beaten and treated shabbily by many. He does not show any bitterness about what happened to him. He believed that the past had no power over him because he was focused on the future.

Over the years I have spent a significant amount of time in courtrooms. In the ordinary exercise of being a minister, I have collected a great group of friends with a penchant for getting into trouble. Many times I became a friendly observer in the courtroom. I have spent a lot of time waiting in courtrooms. Often I pondered what was going on. I reached an understanding. Courts are a very expensive attempt to make the past right. What a waste of time and effort! It is an exercise in looking in the wrong direction.

I have a young 21-year-old friend who is making a valiant effort at redirecting her life. If I shared what I know of her past, most of the readers of this column would not believe the story. I only know bits and pieces. Her family history is a story of alcoholism, drug addition, fighting, prostitution, murder, divorce, thievery, violence, jail and homelessness. My friend is bright and athletically gifted. With great courage in her late teens she walked out of the place she called home and became homeless. She has come a long way. She has now finished high school, owns a car and has completed a semester of college.

My friend and I get together with some regularity for coffee, dessert or lunch. Recently, we talked about her past. She is extremely angry. I counseled that righting the wrongs of the past is futile. Straining forward to what lies ahead is her hope.

A great milestone occurred this past month when Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was officially ended. The military services of the United States are leading the nation in implementing the end of discrimination against gay people. With their new freedom, men and women are sharing their stories about serving their country with honor while hiding their sexual identity. Thousands of young people will continue to come out of their closet to tell their stories.

This past week I read in Time magazine the story of Lt. Karl Johnson, a gay Air Force pilot. As I read of the injustices and pain that Lt. Johnson had endured to serve his country, I was both sad and angry. My mind went to the thousands of young people who have been discharged from the American military because of their sexual orientation.

My mind went to those, who like Lt. Johnson, endured the discrimination and continued to serve with honor. I am embarrassed that the primary force behind gay discrimination has been my fellow Christians. Clergy, churches and denominations have been leaders in the denial of acceptance and human rights of our gay neighbors. Many clergy have known better, but succumbed to the pressure of the pew. Again I find myself both sad and angry. I am sad and angry that the U.S. military employs a higher ethical standard than Christian churches.

I was impressed with the maturity of Lt. Karl Johnson. In the telling of his story, his focus was not on the indignities he and others had suffered. The focus was on the new day that was being ushered in. He was putting the past behind and looking forward to his new day as an Air Force pilot.

In the case of my young 21-year-old friend, I believe she will make it. She will do well in life in spite of her scrambled background and roots. She will become a healthy contributor to society because she has focused on the future rather than her past.

I consider the proclamation of the new day to be central to the Christian message. Sometimes we refer to it as the experience of being born again. Embracing born-again theology means that we believe none of the negatives of the past need determine our futures.

“One thing I do, forgetting what is behind, I strain forward to what lies ahead.” It is a message that is good for individuals, communities, nations and the world.

Grace and peace to you all.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister who lives in Palmer. His email is hdbss@mtaonline.net.

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