Major Barbara

Did you ever see Major Barbara, the 1941 film based on the George Bernard Shaw play? I did. I watched it during a college English class at Jacksonville College.

Shaw was a socialist, and he satired not only capitalism, but just about every facet of every day life, from business, to marriage, family, and so on. In fact, many of these very things were satirized in the Major Barbara play. Imagine, a Major in the Salvation Army who was a woman, Major Barbara. Or how about a man named Dolly (Major Barbara's love interest?) Or a wealthy weapons manufacturer looking for an heir to his empire (he didn't want to pass it down to his kids because he didn't want his kids to take over a business they didn't understand.) One comical line came during the movie when said weapons manufacturer was asking his son what line of work he'd like to enter into. Upon exhausting a list of possible skills, all of which the son said he didn't have, the weapons manufacturer replied "I suppose then the only thing left for you then is politics."

I don't share Shaw's views, but his plays (Major Barbara, The Chocolate Soldier, and others) were good reads.

One thing that came out in Major Barbara, that I believe is infiltrating the churches of the Lord today is the price of salvation. After Major Barbara compromised her principles in order to receive a large financial gift from a wealthy donor, one of the transients at the Salvation Army began to ask, "What's the price of Salvation now?" He continued to ask this question over and over again.

Over the past few years, I have noticed this question is becoming relevant in today's churches. Business meetings, missions meetings, and associational meetings are dominated, not by the validity of the missionary's work, but rather, if the body wants to commit the funds to it. How much will it cost, what's our obligation, how long will this mission project continue to need financial support, hasn't this work been financially supported long enough, and can't we do something more efficient with this money, are all questions that arise on the floor in any given Missionary Baptist meeting.

Now I agree that we need to be good stewards of the funds God has given us, and I also agree that missionaries should be held accountable for what they do with funds sent to support them. I also agree that we need to have a general idea of what the purposes of the general fund and the missions funds are.

However, while we deliberate the direction of our missions programs, let's not forget the reason we labor, give, request, and report for the Lord. It is the millions of souls in Texas, and worldwide who currently do not know the Lord as their Savior. It is the millions of people who will die in their sins and go to Hell.

Our goal is to win these souls to the Lord, baptize them and disciple them... help them grow in their faith and watch, help and enable their Spiritual growth. The result of this is new churches that are solidly planted in God's truth.

So while we debate questions as to what the definition of missions is, how much a missionary should be paid, how long he should be paid, and how much money he should receive for the mission/church he is working to see planted, let's keep in mind the value of the human souls reached... or to put it another way, "How much is the cost of salvation now?"