Gates

Benjamin and I are still reading To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.  While reading last night we came across a particularly poignant dialogue between Atticus Finch and his daughter Scout.  To set it up a bit, Atticus is a lawyer in racially segregated Maycomb, Alabama in 1938.  He is representing a black man in a legal case and his son Jem, aged 12, and daughter Scout, aged 9, are being tormented by their classmates and adults alike for it.  They are calling Atticus a racial epithet in front of the kids and the kids are getting in fights in order to defend their Dad's honor.  Atticus is talking to his daughter Scout, who is rambunctious, and trying to prepare her for a rough summer as the trial of Tom Robinson gets underway.

"Scout," said Atticus, "when summer comes you'll have to keep your head about far worse things... it's not fair for you and Jem, I know that, but sometimes we have to make the best of things, and the way we conduct ourselves when the chips are down -- well, all I can say is, when you and Jem are grown, maybe you'll look back on this with some compassion and some feeling that I didn't let you down.  This case, Tom Robinson's case, is something that goes to the essence of a man's conscience -- Scout, I couldn't go to church and worship God if I didn't try to help that man."

 

"Atticus, you must be wrong..."

 

"How's that?"

"Well, most folks seem to think they're right and you're wrong..."

"They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions," said Atticus, "but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself.  The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience."

 Atticus made some profound statements there.  I admire the way he was honorable and respectful to those who differed with him and the way he modeled civility to his children.  He was a man of steadfast conviction.  I can imagine that he was experiencing a great amount of guilt for causing his children pain, but he didn't lash out in anger at his adversaries.  He instead used a "teachable moment" to convey some great points to his children:

• Be true to yourself and believe in your convictions,
• Help your neighbors and stand up for what is right,
• Be cognizant that majority opinion is not always right

I think about that dialogue and agree that pressure always exists to conform - in all aspects of life.  Sometimes when you take a certain direction that maybe others haven't chosen and find yourself in the minority, you question yourself.  You start to waver and lose confidence and wonder if you are heading in the right direction.  Doubt enters in and you begin to wonder if you are on the right path.
 

Which way do you go?  What path do you take?  To go down a path, lots of times you must go through a gate and on a farm there are all sorts of gates.  Gates are for keeping animals in or out and also as a means of entry and exit for people.  There are wide gates,

 

  

 

 Medium sized picket gates,

 

 

 Small, decorative, old fashioned gates,

 


And NARROW GATES:



I painted that verse of Scripture on our narrow gate to remind me every day of the Truth.  The Truth of the words of Jesus, when He said:

"Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it.  For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it."  - Matthew 7:13-14

I firmly believe Jesus was talking about choices set before us - choices we can make that lead to eternal life and choices we can make that lead to eternal torment.  He is the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE, regardless of what a secular society says.  Majority rule doesn't necessarily apply in spiritual matters.  In fact, the opposite is often true.   

The analogy of the wide gate and the narrow gate also applies to most everything in life as Atticus was trying to teach his kids.  Just because most people thought Atticus was wrong didn't make it wrong.  Jem and Scout would learn this later and admire their Dad for his conviction.  Don't blindly follow the crowd.  Don't assume that just because you find yourself in the minority opinion that you are wrong.  Be guided by your conscience and do what is right.  You must live with the decisions you make.  Be honorable, steadfast and upright in your dealings. 

The narrow gate exemplifies a way of life, a way of relating to God and to others.  I hate to say it but sometimes walking through the narrow gate is hard.  You may feel like a salmon swimming against the current, but keep going.  Walk through the narrow gate, for there is victory at the end of the path!