Oh Really?

Metaphorical Ponderings on Procrustus

Procrustus, son of Poseidon, was infamous for offering a restful place to weary travellers.
It was ghastly for most of them, due to his unwavering belief that guests should be
neither too tall nor too short for the bed he offered. At the Procrustus Inn, if you were too
tall or short, he lopped off your legs or stretched you to fit. Fit you must, by hook or by
crook. If Procrustus were back in action today, perhaps he’d be in politics, offering
answers that the nation has been waiting for with a draconian solution that he so
characteristically embraced. His solution would initially appear to be just what the citizen
needs, but during the implementation, its shortcomings and sacrifices would become
apparent.

Already in Isaiah’s day this was a problem, even among church members. We read in
chapter 28:20, “For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the
covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it.”

Matthew Henry comments like this: Whatever men trust to for justification, except the
righteousness of Christ; or for wisdom, strength, and holiness, except the influences of
the Holy Ghost; or for happiness, except the favour of God; that protection in which they
thought to shelter themselves will prove not enough to answer the intention. Those who
rest in a righteousness of their own will have deceived themselves: the bed is too short,
the covering too narrow. God will be glorified in the fulfilling of his counsels.

Basically, all those who have the Procrustus approach to life will advocate shortening or
stretching of legs, whatever results in a good fit according to political agenda. All the
while that nation of placid citizens will hobble along depending on how much leg has
been stretched or cut.

Perhaps I am starting to show my age, but I marvel from time to time at the youthfulness
of a large number of our politicians. I marvel even more at the sublime self-confidence
displayed when they are called upon to justify their viewpoints or actions. I cannot recall
ever having caught one of them on a moment of humble hesitation. “Confidence... thrives
only on honesty, on honour, on the sacredness of obligation, on faithful performance.
Without them, it cannot live,” said erstwhile US President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
President Roosevelt presumes a lot in this statement, essentially ascribing true confidence
only to those whose confidence is the Lord, because only in Him can the enduring
plumbline of honesty, honour and sacredness be found and only He can give this through
His Spirit to the people of His choosing. Winnie The Pooh has a valuable contribution for
those young and self-confident politicians as well, “Before beginning a hunt, it is wise to
ask someone what you are looking for before you begin looking for it.” My overall
impression is that a good deal of politicking is being acted out on the basis of embryonic
thought processes driven by the pragmatism of the moment. Pooh Bear strongly advises
against this. Why? Because it leads most likely to Procrustean situations.

1
A few political items I have blinked at lately. Firstly, I noted the remarkable negligence –
or arrogance – of one of our cabinet ministers as he implemented a subsidiary
government finance scheme that bankrupted thousands of people who committed
themselves to the project only to see a total collapse. Reports had warned against the
project as being ill-advised and harmful. The minister received a gentle slap on the wrist
by virtue of a reduced portfolio; thousands of businessmen ended up in financial straits.
The minister went ahead helter-skelter and ignored reports presented to his office. He had
a fixed bed size in his head and the harm done to those who slept in it was incalculable;
legs were cut away from under people.

The second issue relates to a minister who was (presumably) happily married, but was
found out as leading a double life. Once upon a time, voters were urged to investigate a
man’s integrity in both personal and public life before deciding to vote for that person.
Now the comments heard over and over are that a person’s private life is just that:
private, i.e. untouchable and to be regarded immune to public scrutiny and judgement.
This minister was not condemned for unfaithfulness to spouse and children, but for using
a government vehicle to perpetrate the deed of visiting a gay night club. It is true that this
minister resigned over the affair. It is disturbing that many a person, especially from the
gay and feminist community, lamented his departure, as it was according to them based
on erroneous motives, i.e. in judgement on moral choices made, moral choices which
were strictly his own business. The metaphorical legs are being stretched to fit the
morality of the libertines, those without moral restraints as given by God.

In many nations, including ours, men make moral beds too short to stretch themselves out
on (Isaiah 28:20). But fit we must. Pragmatism determines whether the legs need cutting
or stretching. It is small wonder that nations hobble along rather than walk confidently
with God the Creator Who enables the right walk, the God-walk, Who enables sleep for
His beloved (psalm 127:2) in beds of moral soundness in the house that He has built.

Abraham Lincoln issued a warning which many formerly Christian nations have ignored
to their peril: “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our
freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” Procrustus grins.

Dr Herm Zandman
25/05/2010