A Dog Statue

On January 1925, dogs that pull sleds in Alaska transported necessary medicine. The musher and his lead dog Balto came through the snowstorm of 100 km per hour in -40° temperature, and arrived just in time to save many people’s lives. At the time it became the headline news all over the world, and it was even made into a movie ten years ago using the name of the dog – Balto.

A statue was built to commemorate this heroic dog in Central Park, in the center of New York. Even though I didn’t see it in person, the statue in the picture that stood profiling the symbolic position of an Alaskan Husky by placing his two front legs on the rock while its tail curls upward in an arc looked very imposing. The moment I saw the statue, I could guess that this Balto didn’t die in a blizzard while carrying out the mission, but died of a natural death years later.

I don’t know how a statue is made in Korea, but in the American tradition, when you make a statue of a horse rider, if both forefeet are in the air it means that he died during the battle, and if one forefoot is in the air, it’s a statue of a person who died later because of wounds he had in the war. And if his four legs are on the ground like this Balto, it is a natural death of old age. While looking at the picture of this dog’s statue, I thought to myself, “If I die, what kind of a statue would be made? Both hands lifted? A single hand? Or an ordinary statue of a life whose hands are down with nothing particular?”

I remember meeting Dr. Clyde Hall, a youth leader at the Southern Baptist Retreat Center in New Mexico about 15 years ago. He was over 50 years old at the time, but his heart and facial expressions were so energetic that even the young adults couldn’t catch up. What he kept saying habitually still lingers in my ears. He said that he wanted to hold a Bible in one hand and volleyball in the other, a tool he used to make relationships with youth, in the other when he dies. After 15 years since I first heard his testimony and dream, I still call him whenever I find his name and article in the newspaper. I always ask whether he still does youth ministry and his answer is always, “Of course.” He can’t work in the field with youth anymore because of his old age that betrays his young heart, but he is committed to raising up the next generation of youth workers. I imagine statues of people like him, whose hands are outstretched with a Bible and a volleyball reaching up to the sky. It’s so nice and exciting a statue even just in thought.

The photo of Yu Gwan-Soon, a representative of the Independence Movement Day (Mar. 1), shows her with a Korean flag in one hand and nothing in the other hand but I think that since most of the fighters of the Independence Movement were Christians or had Christian worldviews, she may have had a Bible in the other hand. When I think about it, I can imagine the statues of people who really lived worthy lives.

It’s great to imagine a statue of most ministers, who would be lifting up the Bible in one hand. But since I’m not a full time minister and not qualified for theological learning at such depth, their statue seems to be remote from me. Rather, a statue of a tent-maker seems to fit closer to me. I can see a great statue of a man who has a Bible in one hand, and money in the other.

I often see Christian businessmen, who know how to live well through CBMC. They really live lifting their hands up to heaven that hold a Bible in one, and money (business) in the other. Some holy men say that “Secular affairs are second, and God first” since the Bible teaches we shouldn’t serve two masters. It’s so true. When I see the lives of those who truly live well, God comes first always and thus, there’s no need to explain what is given. Since they do not have any problem with priorities, the more money they make, the closer they come to God. Those who have a problem with these priorities, the harder they seek after money, the farther they are from God. But those who have their priorities set right, the more money they earn, the harder they work for God. I hope that professional ministers understand this truth, and can help Christian businessmen to work harder by all means.

On the flip side, I also see Christian businessmen who do not live well through the same CBMC. Though they run a business using God-given talents, they also get into the work professional ministers do, and consequently their business becomes slack and their relationship with professional ministers grows apart. Or I also see so many times that a businessman becomes involved in ministry because he can’t refuse the offer of the minister. He is not of great help to the ministry since he doesn’t give himself wholeheartedly, and in many cases he fails to catch the ‘two hares’ that he runs after. I, myself, fell into this category. Even nowadays, if I’m not careful, I’m drawn to ministry, leaving behind the business enterprise that God has given me. I can’t tell whether this conflict comes from the brainwash of the church or revival speakers about “worldly work and heavenly work” or just from me, and I often get confused.

I’ll work harder and make more money to use it well for God’s ministry. Since there are more than enough professional ministers, I don’t need to jump into the field and stir confusion, but rather I’ll run well the business the Lord has entrusted to me and someday, become a real Christian businessman who goes out with both hands up if the opportunity is given.

I’m excited when I see the rare case of those who run their business well, as well as carrying out successfully the work of the Lord. I wish there were more of them.

A statue that holds a Bible looks better than the one holding money in one hand. A statue that has money and the Bible in each hand would be even better, and I’ll work hard in the expectation of becoming that kind of a statue.