New is exciting, untainted and tempting

Stay together -- or split up?

A professor at a Texas seminary tells of the time he and his wife were on the verge of divorce. Their estrangement was deep and wide. The only thing they had left of their decades-long marriage was their mutual respect for their wedding vows. They held onto those words of lifelong commitment; it was the sole remaining connection left between them.

Over time, these intimates who became strangers, united only by the slender reed of marital words discovered -- as Ezekiel: 37 suggests -- that their fragile bond began to grow, with sinews and flesh growing up upon the skeleton (Ezekiel 37:8). The body of their union wasn't restored in a week or a fortnight; the process of restoration was long.

Stay together – or split up?

A group of men meeting in Beaufort, South Carolina, a truly beautiful city, met in a home now known as Secession House. There they drew up a petition in which they announced secession from the United States of America. After four years of bloody conflict, North conquered South, the union was restored and sinews and flesh began to grow up upon the skeleton of our nation.

Stay together -- or split up?

Scotland has been a part of the United Kingdom for more than 300 years. This coming Thursday, the Scots will vote on whether to split from the U.K., in a vote some polls are suggesting is too close to call. The pro-independence movement suggests that an independent Scotland will be more compassionate, freeing itself from what is viewed as an overly frugal England, which dominates the confederation.

Those on the other side of the question suggest that the cost of Scotland raising its own military, coining its own currency and creating its own governmental bureaucracy will far outweigh any benefit from separation. The Scots, in an unusual move, will allow those as young as 16 to cast a vote. Unsurprisingly, the young are disproportionally pro-separation; the seniors in Scotland generally favor staying the course.

The chronologically advanced (a polite euphemism) see the high price of going it alone and doubt that the pride of an independent Scotland will be worth the cost. My wife and I will be watching the vote. We both have Scots forebears and consider that barren land part of our very souls. We even own a tiny patch of land in the National Trust for Scotland.

The Lord's Prayer includes a number of petitions. One of them is quite personal: "Lead us not into temptation." The new is always tempting. We too easily see the ugliness of the present situation; we are well acquainted with sweet promises turned into sour mash.

The new is untainted by any of that experience. The new is exciting; the old is, well, old hat. It's no surprise that the youngest Scots favor independence. There is also a reason why senior Scots favor staying the course and remaining within the kingdom. Experience is a hard teacher.

But there is more to the equation than simply what we've known. There is also a trust factor. Trust that sinews and flesh can again grow upon dry bones and that what was dead in us can be made alive again.

Stay together -- or split up?

Whatever we decide, let's make sure we do it carefully. Sometimes, dry bones can live again. (Ezekiel 37:3).

Dr. Jeff Long serves as executive director of the Chateau Girardeau Foundation, teaches religious studies at SEMO and is a part-time pastor.