The general opinion of Puritans in America over the past century is that they were dour people. The quote....correctly or incorrectly....is attributed to H. L. Mencken...."Puritanism is the haunting fear that someone....somewhere....may be happy." Mr. Mencken had strong opinions....and they were not Christian opinion. He got it wrong with Puritans but might be excused because he did not know who they were.....but he got it right on J. Gresham Machen....because he knew a lot about the Calvinist scholar once of Princeton. On the surface he would disagree with the Fundamentalists of the day....but then he saw Machen....whose intellect he greatly respected....defending fundamentalists against Modernism....and thus the last words he wrote in an obituary/article on Machen were....(this in January of 1937)....as Machen's fight against Modernism in the church ended...."He failed-but he was undoubtably right." I personally like to laugh. My wife and I laugh all the time....(when I'm not crying.) I look every day at John Piper's desiringgod.org ministry website to see if Greg Morse had contributed an article....and today was such a day....and I laughed as I read it....(I usually cry when I read his articles)....because he talked about someone like me....and apparently himself....someone who does not feel comfortable in crowds. On occasion a friend might ask me to attend a reunion....monthly breakfasts actually....of guys that I worked with for almost four decades.....and I never go....because I prefer to talk to someone....one-on-one. Greg Morse humorously in the article told of a tee-shirt that he likes....'Sorry I'm Late....But I Didn't Want To Be Here.' I used to tell friends that I don't go to reunion gatherings....because I do not function well of groups of....over two." I cannot put a YouTube up of Greg Morse's article....(he reads them aloud)....for it is too soon....but you can go to John Piper's website and it will be right on top....titled...."A Shy Guy's Guide To Big Groups." I won't keep the following post up long....it is from December of 2015.
This Is Me
I guess that I started dressing this way over a period of a few years. Brown is my favorite color and my wife can attest to that.....just about any shade of brown. In all my shirts I simply look for a XXL tag. Now my size is more of an XL but I like the shirt sleeves real loose with maybe a six or eight inch cuff. I'm not really particular about the color of my knee high stockings held up by black garters at the bottoms of my baggy britches which are in turn held up by a leather belt with a big buckle. I like buckles! I'll cover the shirt with a tight fitting button-down vest and then wear a more colorful doublet, maybe blue, over it. You know what a doublet is don't you? It's kind of like an outer vest that a hunter might wear while rabbit hunting. Any old brown leather shoes will do....as long as there is a big buckle on them. I then like to fasten a fluffy ruff around my neck. You know....like the Dutch Masters used to wear. And everything is topped off with a tall, wide brimmed hat with a leather strap and big buckle on it. Give me my cape to cover my Bible from the rain, and a cane, and I'm ready to go. So...this is what I look like.....
....in my mind's eye anyway!
In reality... my thoughts, opinions and habits over the period of a few years seem to sway towards these men that were given the derisive sobriquet...Puritans. In the pietistic early days of my Christian walk I refrained from beer and tobacco. I had a vision of what meek was supposed to be and tried to be such but it wasn't my personality. I struggled with this for a while until I saw that meekness was not necessarily in the tone of your voice or what one imbibed or didn't imbibe. Meekness was a deeper attribute, one that viewed others as more important than oneself. A psychologist today might want to cure you of it but this fit my personality.
Much of my reading was Puritan literature and it was humbling to say the least. Their knowledge made mine seem undetectable. Their dedication made me feel lazy, and their love for one another transcended the temporal that we cue in on today. They were immovable in defense of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and in His written Word to us. They were ideal citizens, fathers and mothers. They laughed one moment but could be as serious as a dead rat the next. They loved their beer and laughter. They did not care what anyone thought of them, only what their Lord and Savior thought of them. This life was a pilgrimage to them...and it was something they were good at.
I would never....ever....try to emulate them, and I could not have if I tried, but as time passed I saw vague similarities in my thinking...not nearly as honorable or true....but just similarities. I noticed some of this in my own writing, for I can try my best at humor in one post, and in the next write of the awesome immutable majesty of God. I don't see a contradiction here, in fact it seems so natural to enjoy life one moment yet be sober as a pilot the next. I can laugh and converse with a friend one moment and then when we part... pull out my Bible and become transfixed in awe as I read of the glory due God the Father and His Son and His Holy Spirit! I felt that I needed to write this post, for often I thought that the reader might see this odd mixture and wonder how it could be. Whether I have explained it adequately I don't know but at least I gave an attempt. Thank-you for your indulgence.
note: The sculpture is Augustus Saint-Gaudens....The Puritan!
