On the Vanity of Earthly Greatness

Remember this one from Lit class?

The tusks that clashed in mighty brawls
Of mastodons, are billiard balls.
The sword of Charlemagne the Just
Is ferric oxide, known as rust.
The grizzly bear whose potent hug
Was feared by all, is now a rug.
Great Caesar’s bust is on my shelf,
And I don’t feel so well myself.

It is titled, "On the Vanity of Earthly Greatness" and was penned by American poet Arthur Guiterman. It has been, deservedly, reprinted in a host of textbooks, so unless you played hooky a lot, there is a good chance that you remember it. 

Guiterman also wrote "Our New Religion," and knowing that he lived from 1871 to 1943 gives us some perspective that whist technology changes over a century, people still reject God on a regular basis. 

First dentistry was painless.
Then bicycles were chainless,
Carriages were horseless,
And many laws enforceless.

Next cookery was fireless,
Telegraphy was wireless,
Cigars were nicotineless,
And coffee caffeineless.

Soon oranges were seedless,
The putting green was weedless,
The college boy was hatless,
The proper diet fatless.

New motor roads are dustless,
The latest steel is rustless,
Our tennis courts are sodless,
Our new religion — godless.

How does all this relate to lessons from a runaway bride? Some of it does not; some was included just for fun. But it is worth exploring the idea that contemporary religion is "godless." I will give Guiterman some poetic license for this one. It is hard to cram a complex idea into a four-word line at the end of a poem. Completely "godless" would be hyperbole, but the central point is clear; God has been diminished.

I would never call KatieLyn godless. That would be both false and guileful.  (Maybe I will come back and edit guileful sometime; I am looking for a word that means "crafty-cruel.")

KatieLyn is certainly not godless, however, by running off into the night she failed to trust God. She diminished her own faith and honored her own fear and doubt. She made idols out of good intentions and allowed her mother's counsel to take the place of what the Lord had told her.

I imagine that she felt like she was between a rock and a hard place. She, by her actions, showed that she did not trust God, nor did she trust Joe, nor even herself, really. Her actions show that she trusted most in her mother. She had more faith in her mom than in anyone else, including God. So while I would not call her "godless" on the whole, she did not value Him as much as she did her mother when she made the decision to runaway from His plan for her.

The Lesson

On the Consequences of Doubting God

A winsome miss
Discovered bliss:
The thrill of love exotic!

Until, sad day,
Her doubt took sway
And turned her so psychotic.

Then her joy fled.
Fears rose instead.
Such loss of faith proved toxic.