Parable
of the Fishless Fishermen
N |
ow it came to pass that a group existed who called themselves
fishermen. And lo, there were many fish in the waters all around. In fact, the
whole area was surrounded by streams and lakes filled with fish. And the fish were
hungry.
Year after year these who called themselves
fishermen met in meetings and talked about their call to fish, the abundance of
fish, and how they might go about fishing.
Continually they searched for new and better
definitions of fishing. They sponsored costly nationwide and worldwide
congresses to discuss fishing and to promote fishing and hear about all the
ways of fishing.
These fishermen built large, beautiful buildings
called “Fishing Headquarters.” The plea was that everyone should be a fisherman
and every fisherman should fish. One thing they didn’t do, however; they didn’t
fish.
They organized a board to send out fishermen to
where there were many fish. The board was formed by those who had the great
vision and courage to speak about fishing, to define fishing, and to promote
the idea of fishing in faraway streams and lakes where many other fish of
different colors lived.
Also the board hired staffs and appointed
committees and held many meetings to define fishing, to defend fishing, and to
decide what new streams should be thought about. But the staff and committee
members did not fish. Expensive training centers were built to teach fishermen
how to fish. Those who taught had doctorates in fishology, but the teachers did
not fish. They only taught fishing. Year after year, graduates were sent to do
full-time fishing, some to distant waters filled with fish.
Further, the fishermen built large printing houses
to publish fishing guides. A speaker’s bureau was also provided to schedule
special speakers on the subject of fishing.
Many who felt the call to be fishermen responded,
and were sent to fish. But like the fishermen back home, they never fished.
Some also said they wanted to be part of the
fishing party, but they felt called to furnish fishing equipment. Others felt
their job was to relate to the fish in a good way so the fish would know the
difference between good and bad fishermen.
After one stirring meeting on “The Necessity for
Fishing,” a young fellow left the meeting and went fishing.
The next day he reported he had caught two
outstanding fish. He was honored for his excellent catch and scheduled to visit
all the big meetings possible to tell how he did it.
So he quit his fishing in order to have time to
tell about the experience to the other fishermen. He was also placed on the
Fishermen’s General Board as a person having considerable experience. Now it’s
true that many of the fishermen sacrificed and put up with all kinds of
difficulties. Some lived near the water and bore the smell of dead fish every
day. They received the ridicule of some who made fun of their fishermen’s clubs
and the fact that they claimed to be fishermen yet never fished.
They wondered about those who felt it was of little
use to attend the weekly meetings to talk about fishing. After all, were they
not following the Master who said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of
men?
Imagine how hurt some were when one day a person
suggested that those who didn’t catch fish were really not fishermen, no matter
how much they claimed to be. Yet it did sound correct. Is a person a fisherman
if year after year he never catches a fish?
— from Battle
Cry, published by Chick Publications, PO Box 3500, Ontario, CA
91761-1100. W
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