An old poem contains a great deal of wisdom that is worth pondering. “Ring the bells that still ring/ Forget your perfect offering/ There’s a crack in everything/ That’s how the light gets in.” The poem offers comfort, then gives a challenge, and finally lifts up glimmers of hope.
The comfort comes to sincere people who strive for perfection, but always fall short, either because of one’s mistakes or because of interference from other people or outside forces. We live among imperfect people and imperfect organizations. That is simply the description of human finitude combined with human freedom. It seems counterintuitive to take comfort in the imperfection and imperfect offerings. My colleague, Eric Dean, preached a marvelous sermon entitled, “The Good News About Sin.” He said that the fact that we sin and means that we are moral creatures gifted with intelligence to discern what is good to do and volition to decide to do the good rather than evil. Without freedom we might be perfect robots.
We are left to do good and be the best we can. Banging heads against the impossible, is like banging on bells that make only deadening sounds. We should “ring the bells that still ring.” Our church multigenerational bell choir played a spirited piece. The smallest children loved the part when they could just ring their tiny bells as hard and fast as they could without worrying about notes or rhythm. That seemed to radiate childhood innocence.
No one individual or group holds a silver bullet that will overcome our challenges, but we have millions of silver buckshot skills and abilities that are needed in our community. We have words that can curse or bless and acts that harm or heal. These abilities are a storehouse of treasures despite imperfection. Indeed, biblical wisdom indicates that “we bear this treasure in earthen vessels” (II Corinthians 4:7) — in ugly sun-dried clay pots. We can do better and reach toward the best we can be.
Glimmers of hope come through goodness that shines through cracks in our earthen pots. Light shines inward and outward through the cracks. It is easy to criticize individuals and organizations because of perceived failures. A more hopeful effort is to look for the light that shines through.
Imagine walking through Crawfordsville looking for light and glimmers of hope instead of cursing the darkness. Volunteers manage a complex distribution of food for our neighbors through FISH. Others provide clothing, furniture, supplies, and tutoring. Teachers and schools struggle through multiplying challenges and burdensome criticism to enable our children to succeed. Our local officials wade through piles of red tape to make our community a better place to live. A biblical injunction is, “Don’t hide your light under a bushel”; rather, let light shine through cracks.
Imperfection is not an excuse to be resigned to the status quo. Finitude combined with reason and volition are real, creating a challenge, responsibility, and the hopeful prospect that we can be better and do better. Start with these actions:
Follow the example of individuals in our community who spread light, harmony, joy, and hope. Associate with them rather than with those who sow seeds of evil.
Stop complaining and do something positive for someone.
Support with time, efforts, and resources those organizations that spread light in our community.
We with our neighbors can fashion our silver buckshot into silver bells. Don’t hide your light in a clay pot. Together we might become a multigenerational bell choir generating life-giving music in Crawfordsville and Montgomery County.
Raymond Brady Williams, Crawfordsville, LaFollette Distinguished Professor in the Humanities emeritus, contributed this guest column.
