The Big Red Machine
~Speech before the communist party of the Soviet Union~
Growing up in Minnesota I was a huge hockey fan. Of course, given the climate this isn't too hard to understand. I remember spending countless days in below freezing weather skating around some frozen ice rink. We really didn't care about the weather all that much, the game was what mattered. To this day, many people are amazed at my non aversion to colder weather. Hey, I've seen that movie already bro. Growing up I also had my favorite hocket teams. One of them was not one which too many hockey fans would respect. However, I grew up with a great respect for the Central Red Army team of the former Soviet Union. Yes, these guys could play. It's no secret that todays NHL is chock full of Russian born players, and there's a reason for that. I remember reading a article written about the Soviet team around the time of the Rende-vous 87' series in 1987 which pitted the NHL's best against the "Big red machine" of the Soviets. The Russians were described as...stoic, quiet and apprehensive around Americans. Most people would see this as arrogance, but I didn't. This behavior by the Soviet athletes was contributed to how they were taught. In addition to training 10 months out of each year, each Soviet hockey playing soldier was expected to never question the authority of the Soviet system. Not only that, but they truly believed, correctly in most cases, that they were superior to any opponent. This belief was instilled in these men from a early age. The Soviet system was one where individualism was not something that was highly respected. Each and every shift, shot and play was designed with the team in mind. That was the Soviet system not only in sports but in everyday Russian life as well. American citizens at the time rightly summarized that the tightly controlled Russian system was but a classroom on communism. While not a fan of communism, I came to admire the style of play of these Russian players. Who ever thought that the former Soviet Union could serve as a lesson on modern christianity, but there is no doubt that it can. For as the former Central Red Army players followed a strict system of life, so do we today.
1Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
1 John 4: 1 NKJV
I never really thought I could live in such a tightly controlled system as communism, until I began to reconsider my life in the church. Now, I am by NO means comparing the institutional church to a communist system, only that I myself began to question it as I grew in my faith. There was a point in my own walk where I began to question what I saw as systems within the church. Be it communion, tithing or other man made traditions, something inside of me made me question just how the church was relating to the rest of us. See, I did not see the church building as the one and only dwelling place of God. I mean, if God is our all in all, isn't it possible that He is everywhere? These aren't the thoughts of a heretic, just someone who questioned how the church I walked into each week was relating our heavenly Father to those who truly needed Him the most. I fully believe that I could walk into almost any church service this morning and predict just how it would unfold. I've been there too many times. What is it that made me question the church? For the most part it was my own relationship with my heavenly Father. The system taught me from a young age that Christ Jesus sat at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Of course, I took this to mean that I was seperated from God. How could a God who had promised to never leave me nor forsake me be so far away? Why wasn't the church telling me of my true relationship with God? The relationship where Jesus is closer to me than I ever imagined {Galations 2:20}. Like communism, this man made system of thought was teaching people exactly what they wanted them to believe. I've forgotten how many times the call from the pupit urged me to come clean and ask Gods forgiveness for my own sins. This I did over, never questioning as to why I needed to if the finished work of Jesus on the cross had removed that responsibility from me. Not only that, but He ensured that I, Scott, am now dead to that sin I was being told still existed {Romans 6:11}. My relationship with Christ is not one dictated by christian doctrine or church policy. No, my relationship with Christ Jesus today is one born from my heart. So, I guess I've defected from the system.
~Scott~
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