The Primrose Path

During my recent trip to Honduras, I found myself lacking reading material. I had neglected to pack a book or a magazine or anything else to read (besides my Idiot's Guide to Spanish). I had intended to rely on the books I had downloaded on my iPhone Kindle app. But as I lay in bed on the first night in expectation of the relaxing comfort of a good novel, I realized I had not downloaded any new material. I was faced with a dilemma: re-read a mystery novel or begin one of the other works. My choices were limited. It came down to Fear and Trembling by Kierkegaard or one of Shakespeare's plays. Not having read it in awhile, I chose Hamlet.

Yes, it seems an odd choice given the circumstances. But as I began to read, I found the story familiar and the rhythms pleasing. I once heard Hamlet described as "nothing but a bunch of quotations strung together." And it's true (it is difficult to resist the urge to type " 'tis true!" right there). Passage after passage spoke to me in new and different ways. One passage early on particularly caught my attention. Laertes counsels his sister, Ophelia, to be cautious in receiving the affections of Hamlet lest they prove fleeting and false. Ophelia, the dutiful younger sister, agrees to take heed of his advice, but goes on to add:

But, good my brother,
Do not, as some ungracious pastors do,
Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven;
Whiles, like a puff'd and reckless libertine,
Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads,
And recks not his own rede. (I,iii,49-54)

Hypocrisy. It's an ugly word with a long and ugly history. The word "hypocrisy" comes from the Greek. It translates literally to "under-decide" but was used to denote "play-acting." I'm sure there were hypocrites even before ancient Greece.

Ophelia warns her brother, Laertes, not to hold her to a high standard of conduct and then walk down the "primrose path of dalliance" (Shakespeare lingo for "the wild side"). But her language cuts even deeper. She mentions -- by name -- ungracious, hypocritical pastors. She could have just as easily been speaking to many Christians, not just pastors or ministers.

I reflected on our mission trip in Honduras. We were sharing the Good News with the people there. The Way can, at times, be steep and thorny. How often do we turn around, finger still pointing skyward, and follow a different path? Is it because we lack faith? We only wish to maintain a good appearance? We are weak? I'm afraid the answer is "yes." Unfortunately, this trait, this failing quality is the stench that offends the nostrils of so many non-believers.

How then can we proceed? I preach primarily to myself here (but you get to listen in). We must live before we speak. We cannot speak in hypotheticals but in reality and out of true experience. Practice, then preach. We need to discover what we believe and put it into everyday practice. Then, and only then, can we offer our hand to our fellow man or woman to join us on that steep and thorny way. Together, we can make it.