One of the sentries who stood guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns when Hurricane Isabel slammed the Atlantic coast in 2003 was later asked by a reporter why he didn’t seek shelter from the storm. The reporter asked a question about his “silly, purposeless, personal risk” to which the valiant soldier replied, “I wouldn’t expect you to understand. It’s an enlisted man’s thing.” “When practically every government employee in Washington was beating a hasty retreat to avoid the aftereffects of Hurricane Isabel, a small group of men decided their commitment to duty, honor and country was more important than personal safety or comfort” (Texarkana Gazette).
People around us, be it family, close friends or neighbors, often do not understand. They can’t understand our thought processes as our hearts are internally developing “the mind of Christ” (Philippians 2:5; 1 Corinthians 2:16). They can’t understand the radically different way we approach life with new values and priorities. They can’t understand our calm in the midst of the storms of life. They can’t understand the peace and confidence with which we approach death (Psalm 23:4; Philippians 4:7). They can’t understand why we rise early on Sunday morning with our families to go to Sunday School and worship our Father above (John 4:23). They can’t understand why we return on Sunday evening for worship and fellowship with the saints. They can’t understand why we go to midweek Bible Study on Wednesday, or why we would assemble three or four week nights for an hour for a Gospel meeting. They can’t understand why we are watching vigilantly and busying ourselves in kingdom tasks (Matthew 6:33; Luke 12:37).
What we understand is that our great, gracious, omnibenevolent Father, who gave us the greatest gift to redeem and free us from our sins and deliver us from eternal death, is worthy of far greater honor, glory and service than those men interred at the Tomb of the Unknowns. When others ask us about such “silly, purposeless inconvenience,” we simply reply, “I wouldn’t expect you to understand. It’s an enlisted man’s thing” (2 Timothy 2:3-4).
