Badgees? We Don' Need No Badgees!

Two farmers were leaning on a gate and looking into a field. They were pondering the field, and in particular something that was happening just beyond the brow of a slope. A policeman happened to be driving by and he stopped.

“What are you looking at, men?” asked the policeman. “Oh, nothing much”, they said. “We’re just pondering what could be moving about on yonder side of the field”.

“Well”, said the policeman. “Maybe I’ll just take a walk over there and see what it is”.

“I wouldn’t be too hasty in doing that”, replied the farmer. “Why not?” asked the policemen. “Well, I own this field and I wouldn’t be allowing you to just wander over there”, replied the farmer.

The policeman produced his badge and said, “You see this here badge? It’ll get me into almost any place I want providing I am on legal police business”. “Well”, said the farmer. “I still wouldn’t be recommending that you wander into my field”.

At which point the policeman climbed over the gate and started to walk across the field.

Moments later there was a lot of screaming and yelling coming from beyond the slope of the field. “Open the gate!! Hurry up. Open the gate!!” yelled the policeman as he came sprinting back across the field. “There’s a bull chasing me. Open the gate!!” He yelled.

The farmer yelled back “Just show him your badge!!”

The title of this blog was taken and paraphrased from an old Humphrey Bogart movie called The Treasure Of Sierra Madre. It was used again in the spoof western Blazing Saddles and has been parodied in many television programs since then.

Badges. Labels. We all love them, in whatever shape or form they come in. It might not be a badge that you wear on your lapel. But rather a badge, or symbol, within society. A club you belong to. A Fraternity. A school, or church. And by asking certain questions we can ascertain which badge or label a person will have in their mindset.

Which football team do you support? Which school did you go to? What music do you like?

“Which church do you go to?” is one such question. And depending on what way we answer a person can put a label, or badge, on you.

If we were to answer Presbyterian then someone would presume that we are a Calvinist and we also might believe in Predestination. If we were to answer with one of the Pentecostal churches then people would presume that we would like the livelier music in churches and aren’t afraid to clap, or even dance during the services.

And we still continue to talk to each other and ask certain questions so that we can get to know each other better and see what badges we wear, or what boxes we tick. Presbyterian, Church of Ireland, Anglican Church, Methodist, Gospel Hall, Pentecostal.

I’m reminded of the old story of a church elder who was awarded a medal for being the most humble man in church. When he got his little award badge he pinned it onto his lapel and the congregation immediately took it off him again.

Some people are so strongly opinionated about these badges that they refuse to talk to someone else if they don’t think the same way, or don’t wear the same badges as they do. Some staunch Calvanists don’t talk to the Armenianists. Some Fundamentalists don’t talk to Liberals. I had a church-going guy in my house recently who told me how much he totally detested fundamentalists. Obviously he hadn’t looked at my bookshelf before he said this.

But Jesus never wanted it to be this way. Jesus only ever asked for one thing. In the book of Matthew we read these verses…

Matt ch16…

13.  When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" 

14.  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the    prophets." 

15.  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 

16.  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 

Jesus only ever asked for us to acknowledge Him as God. And to worship Him and witness for Him as such. Nothing else.

The Apostle Paul further writes in his letter to the Christians who resided in Rome…

Romans ch10 v9  …that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 

Romans ch10 v10  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Jesus never meant for us to have any other label than the one which glorifies him.

So, wear your badge with pride.

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