ONE TIN SOLDIER

This morning I listened to an old song from 1969 called “One Tin Soldier”, and if you’re about my age, that title might have you remembering (or even singing) the song.

The lyrics told of a fictional Kingdom at the top of a mountain.  It was said that the Kingdom possessed a great treasure and that it was buried beneath a stone. 

The residents of the valley below the Kingdom were jealous of what they suspected to be very valuable, and so they ended up sending a note to the people on the mountain asking for the treasure.  However, when the people of the Kingdom offered to share, rather than give, their treasure, the valley people attacked. 

The refrain of the song goes like this:

Go ahead and hate your neighbor, go ahead and cheat a friend. 

Do it in the name of heaven, you can justify it I the end. 

There won’t be any trumpets blowing come the judgement day. 

On the bloody morning after…one tin soldier rides away.

Well, the story ends with the valley people killing all of the mountain people and then discovering that the treasure they had fought and killed for was simply an engraving under the stone that read - “Peace on Earth.” 

The song, like many of the era, was an anti-war sentiment criticizing what was going on in Viet Nam…but as I listened to it today – I thought, “How sad that we never seem to learn.” 

Right now, Russia is waging war against Ukraine.  There are civil wars going on in at least 10 countries, and terrorist insurgents are wreaking havoc in at least 20 others.  There are drug wars happening in Mexico, and Columbia, political unrest in Iraq, North and South Korea hate each other, and the United States is despised by many.

Most of the fights are over land and power, but sometimes people are still killed for their religious beliefs, or nationalism.  And in ALL of these bloody battles that result in people dead on both sides, those fighting always feel justified in their actions.

But in the end, doesn’t the Bible tell us to “love our neighbor as ourselves?”  And Psalm 34:14 says, “Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.”  Romans 12:18 says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.”  And lastly, 2 Corinthians 13:11 says, “Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.”

The Garden of Eden was a paradise that could have brought humanity into an eternity of peace and closeness to God.  Yet instead of trusting Him, Adam and Eve sought the “treasure” they thought could be gained by eating the fruit of the forbidden tree. 

If only they had realized that what they HAD was better than what they sought…

If you are enjoying these posts, please consider telling a friend about them, or clicking the FOLLOW button.