The Futility of Success

The aircraft are here and we've been flying and firing the weapons. I had a direct hit on a target with a rocket the other day. It was a beautiful shot. There's a science to shooting, but with all the variables of aerial gunnery there is very much an art to it as well. So when you have such a wonderful result as "scoring" a direct hit...it becomes very memorable. It's a hole-in-one, the game-winning touchdown, or the home run that wins the world series. And yet, how can such a thing remove or erase all those misses, whether they were close or not?

A man I worked with once said something along the lines of "All the 'Atta boy!'s in the world won't erase the one 'Aw, shit!'" Odd that he was one who adamantly refused to be 'religious', and yet, he so totally understood that mindset that he actually participated in those same types of judgments that he railed against.

The futility of human righteousness is that it is the sum of our successes minus our failures. Instead of being lifted up by the moral law that we thought was meant to bring order and fulfillment, we've found ourselves oppressed and torn down by our lackluster performance and the chaos around us. Diligently we've applied ourselves, thinking that if only enough people would "get on board" the system would actually work; still, the reality continues to stare us in the face...it doesn't work.

So, I guess I shouldn't find it too odd that we inflate the value of our successes to overshadow all the failures; we remember our "good" deeds more than our "bad" ones, we remember victories while trying to forget defeats, all in the attempt to appear better than we really are. The futility of success is that it makes it appear as if the system is working.

Previous Comments:

I'm enjoying your blog entries!:)

Tell us what it feels like to pilot a helicopter!

And.....be safe!
Posted by Mickey on December 2, 2003 at 12:50:34 AM


Harry, there's just something about your writing. I really do appreciate it. You make me think!
Posted by MsTick on December 3, 2003 at 10:03:33 AM


Can't wait for more Harry... and I join the others in wishing/hoping for your safe return.
Posted by RickinVa on December 3, 2003 at 10:30:04 AM


Thanks for another incredibly insightful look at the futility of the thing we so desperately hold onto so much of the time!

It's great to continue hearing from you, my dear friend!

Jim
Posted by the shovel on December 6, 2003 at 07:03:57 AM


Glad to hear you are okay - continue to pray for you and the family. The system - the one I chase windmills with is the educational system. I got out to homeschool and it appears my son will be going back for his high school years. Hubby teaches "in the system" and wants me to go back to teaching next fall (money issues) BUT I hate how all systems seem to be in existence to perpetuate themselves - they fail to address the needs of the individual. Religious systems (like most systems) are based on laws that are supposed to "protect and enhance" the individual (but often become more corporate in function). We all know that the law produces death - so what really happens is that the law creates more laws and the separation from life gulfs further and further. Thank God we serve the Lord, who offers us a free gift and who deals with each of us individually - knowing our frame, having created us in our mother's womb. He knows who we are, where we are, and what we need. He is sufficient for us.
Posted by lillium on December 7, 2003 at 09:30:26 AM/blockquote>