Have
you had a cherished possession that was broken, lost or stolen? How
did you feel? How would you have felt if you had given it away?
(Serendipity Bible 10th Anniversary Edition, page
1051).
Often
I have seen on the news after a devastating fire or flood has ravished
a neighborhood, people dejectedly going through the rubble that was
once their homes looking for sentimental items that nature had
destroyed without any regard to what the items meant to their owners.
Once I had a collection of old vinyl records. One record was a 45 RPM
record in mint condition. It was Elvis Presley singing Loving You. I had gotten the record many years ago when I was just
entering my teens. I had planned to give it as a gift to my brother
and his wife on a significant wedding anniversary. But once while I
was away a thief entered my home and stole the record collection
including that record. The thief probably had in view a quick cash
turnover in some Saturday flea market. I felt much as those people
that have seen prized possessions impersonally destroyed in a storm.
The item had a deep meaning for me. It symbolized an abiding
connection between me and my brother and his wife. It also brought
back cherished memories of my youth. The thief had a flagrant
disregard for the full dimensions and dynamism of value this item had
for me. He stole it to realize a few bucks quickly. So for me the
offense was only superficially tied to monetary value of the item,
but constituted a profound betrayal of my personhood.
This
can give a clue as to the deep feelings of patriotism for country
that can arise. An invading army may be primarily concerned with
power or plunder, but have little comprehension or regard for the
value that people place upon their motherland. The aggression
constitutes an offense of a much greater magnitude than merely the
potential loss of real estate or material possessions. It is rather
something that goes to the core of being and is therefore worth dying
for.
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