LEARNING FROM HISTORY

1 Corinthians 10:11

These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.

                 It has been said in various ways that those who refuse to learn the lessons from history are doomed to repeat them. I believe we are in one of those situations.

                The Korean War took place between June 1950-July 1953. North Korea invaded South Korea. In response, the United Nations sent troops to assist the South Koreans. General Douglas MacArthur was placed in over all command of the UN forces. After some initial setbacks, the UN forces where able to push the North Korean army back. Buoyed by this success, General MacArthur decided to push all the way to the Chinese border, in an attempt to completely eliminate the North Korean threat.

                General MacArthur and his staff were convinced that their enemy was defeated and could easily be overcome. What they did not know was that China had entered the fray with a massive army. In September of 1950, MacArthur ordered his troops to advance at all speed to the Yalu River; the border with China. He sent the First Marine Division north to the Chosin Reservoir. His second in command, General Almond, strung out the Marines over a 30-mile stretch along the one main road north to the border. What General MacArthur and General Almond did not know was that the Chinese army had laid a trap for the Marines, which they sprung with cruel efficiency.

                Throughout the early days of this battle, MacArthur’s staff continued to convince him that the enemy was weak and should easily be overcome. Those on the ground knew differently. They continually sent urgent messages to MacArthur’s staff reporting the overwhelming odds they were facing. These reports were discounted as defeatism. They were ordered to continue to push forward. The outcome was the loss of many lives.

                We are in a battle of a different sort today. We are not fighting an enemy army, but a pervasive virus that has the potential to devastate us. Yet many people today continue to hold onto false ideas about the threat. They want to downplay it and continue to push ahead. They are convinced that enemy is weak and we can overcome it. They are choosing to hang onto what they want things to be like. In the face of this, we are receiving daily messages from those who are on the front lines. They are pleading with us to take this pandemic seriously. The enemy we face of formidable and indiscriminate. Our hospitals and medical staffs are being overwhelmed.

                If General MacArthur had listened to the Generals on the front lines, the outcome of the Chosin Reservoir encounter would have been very different. Because he refused to listen, lives were lost. We all need to stop listening to the wishful thinking of those who tell us that we have nothing to worry about. We need to listen to those who are on the front lines. What they are asking of us may be inconvenient and uncomfortable at times, but if we take realistic steps, we can save lives. It is as simple as that.

                So I want to learn the lesson of the Chosin Reservoir. Listen to those closest to the conflict. Wear a mask in public. Keep your distance from others when you have to go out. Don’t gather in large groups. Stay home if you can. Do your part to stop this enemy from spreading.

Philippians 1:9-11

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God.