William
Andrew Dillard
Parson to Person
In
1939, (my birth year) Hollywood produced a box office bonanza with
the all-time classic movie, GONE WITH THE WIND. It depicted a labor
intensive way of life. Of course, in 1939 the nation was only about
seventy years away from the Civil War, so, those times were still on
the mind of older citizens (much like WWII remains on older minds
today). In addition to those times, there are also many things and
ways that have fallen to the chapters of history, especially with the
vaunted progress of the 20th Century. I write briefly about one of
those ways of life: that of the now largely extinct
share-cropper.
Well over a half century ago, my pastoral
ministry was initiated in the cotton and bean fields of northeast
Arkansas. Most folk in the area were known as sharecroppers. Like the
aforementioned movie, this, too, is a way of life largely gone with
the wind.
Sharecroppers lived in someone else’s house on
someone else’s land. In varying agreements, they worked the land
for the land owner, and shared a percentage of the crops produced. It
was not much of a way to get ahead in life, but it was a way to
sustain life. Most of the houses provided were substandard, and
largely without indoor plumbing. My wife and I spent one memorable
winter night with a family in that environment. To stay warm, we
slept under so many quilts that it was virtually impossible to turn
over. However, though poor, the people were sweet, kind, and loving.
They loved the Lord, and they loved my young wife and me. It was such
a joy to be considered their pastor, although a neophyte in every
sense of the word.
Years have come and gone, and I am, as they
were: a sharecropper. But, the sharecropping presently experienced is
being accomplished in an agreement with God, the true land owner.
Paul taught in I Cor. 3:9, “For we are labourers together with God:
ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.” We plant and water,
but He gives the increase. It is He who has given to us this laboring
ministry of reconciliation, and He teaches us all in Psalm 126:6, “He
that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless
come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”
Formerly,
due to weather or pestilence, crops might fail, leaving the farming
sharecropper in dire straits financially. But one may be sure that
sharecropping with God brings a guaranteed successful harvest to the
rejoicing of everyone involved. Since all are tenants and not owners,
they are sharecropping for someone. But soon the window of time for
sharecropping on this terrestrial ball will also pass away. It is but
for a season. Consequently, it is so very important to choose wisely
with whom you partner in the sharecropping venture of life.
LISTS
On our list of activities in life:
There are some things we need
to eliminate,
some things we need to delegate,
and the rest we need
to dedicate.
Adrian Rogers
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