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 Several
years back I noticed what I thought was an abnormal number of
crickets singing at night. I called it to my wife’s attention, but
she said she heard nothing. The doctor said it was a “chirping”
within my head (due to sinus stoppage, inner-ear trouble, or
something like that) and he sent me to see a specialist.
That
specialist irrigated, probed, medicated, steamed, etc., until
finally he removed the towels and said, “Let’s all be quiet, and
see if Mr. Turner hears crickets.”
I
listened —and, sure enough, no more crickets. Now it sounded like
tree frogs. The specialist was sympathetic, but insisted on his fee.
After all, he had stopped the crickets. He didn’t claim to be a
tree-frog specialist. I paid through the nose.
Ours
is a day of specialists. Expansion of knowledge is so great that one
man can not hope to know it all, even in one field. But it does seem
we could retain a few all-around men, specializing in common sense
and the know-how for every day affairs of life. Today’s emphasis
upon ecology should teach us the interrelation of all parts to the
whole.
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And
nowhere is this relationship of parts more important than in the
study of the Bible. It is natural and probably inevitable that some
of us will take a special interest in Bible history, some in the
church, some in prophecy, etc. We may go, unashamedly, to the works
of this or that “specialist” to draw on his knowledge of some
particular field. But unless these special studies are kept in
careful tune with the whole, they may lead us far astray. Witness
the “prophecy” specialist (?) who misses the most obvious
fulfillments in Christ and His spiritual kingdom.
Some
preachers are better suited to one kind of work than another. One may
be a debater, in the right sense. Another may be poorly suited for public
discussion, but do well in private teaching. But all should stand firmly
for the truth; and neither degrees nor country-style debating can excuse
ungodly conduct or compromise.
Of
course some specialists do fill an over-all need but are misunderstood
because their work is not sufficiently explained. One fellow complained
about paying $25. to have a tooth filled, saying, “. . .And then it warn’t
more’n half full.”
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