Missions: "The Charge of the Light Brigade"

In December 1854, Alfred Lloyd Tennyson wrote the poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade," in just a few minutes after having read the account of the terrible slaughter of British troops during the Crimean War in the Valley of Balaklava, now located in the Ukraine.

Some of the familiar verses are:

Half a league, half a league,

Half a league  onward,

All in the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred. 

'Forward, the Light Brigade!

Charge for the guns' he said:

Into the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred. 

'Forward, the Light Brigade!'

Was there a man dismay'd?

Not tho' the soldiers knew

Some one had blunder'd: 

Their's not to make reply,

Their's not to reason why,

Their's but to do and die:

Into the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred. 

Over a million soldiers died if you count all the British allies and the Russians. Yet, not once do I recall reading that anyone of any prominence suggested cutting off the funds to these troops. Granted, it was a senseless war, and as far as I know it accomplished very little except to strengthen the power of the British and the Ottoman Empire. Yes, the Ottoman Empire. The Muslims had been killing and persecuting Orthodox Christians and Russia wanted to put a stop to it. Britain adamantly opposed Russian interference and laid down 4 conditions; namely:

1. Russia was to give up its protectorate over the Danubian Principalities;

2. It was to abandon any claim granting it the right to interfere in Ottoman affairs on the behalf of the Orthodox Christians;

3. The Straits Convention of 1841 was to be revised;

4. All nations were to be granted access to the River Danube.

Amazing, isn't it? Naturally, the Russians refused, so war was inevitable.

Why do I write this? Simply to illustrate that in every generation there has been senseless and unnecessary wars. Yet, even in the face of senselessness, the soilder was not abandoned on the field of battle.

Contrast this with the soldiers of the Cross. How many times have you heard of missionaries giving up and returning home because of the lack of finance? Or old soldiers of the Cross leaving a widow behind to fend for herself with just half of his social security check? It seems to me that we should reconsider our priorities and care for our soldiers. Is it right for mission organizations to cloth and feed enemies of the Cross and neglect our own? I think not.

Humanitarian work is noble. I've feed thousands, built hundreds of homes, ran a hospital that had over 80,000 appointments annually, ran an orphanage . . . but, all of this is somehow out of synch if we neglect to finance the true warriors of the Cross. Spiritual warfare however is seldom prioritized. No, our mission programs across most denominations are run on the fuel of emotional appeal to some humanitarian need. If it weren't so sacrilegious, I would like to stage a contest, pitting 2 fund raises against each other. One could talk only of feeding, or clothing the destitute; and, the other could only talk about winning souls.

Who do you think would win?

Oh, I know the argument. It goes something like this, "Jim, we should do both. They are not mutually exclusive. Once creates goodwill; the other reaps the harvest." I agree. So, then why are missions organizations so eager to go about spreading goodwill, but allowing the reapers to flounder around in a quagmire of financial uncertainty?

Oh, well, I've said it. Got it off my chest.

In any event it is just one man's opinion.