Arthur Mendelson was a patient in the Fairfax Hospital Psychiatric Ward in 1969, the very hospital Hunter Adams admitted himself into. An orderly was showing Hunter around when Arthur abruptly interrupted the tour by thrusting his hand in front of Hunter’s face and asked, “How many fingers do you see?! Well…how many?”
Four was the answer Hunter gave. Arthur grumbled, “Four! Four? Huh…another idiot.”
The answer is obvious, isn’t it? Someone shows you their hand and asks how many fingers there are, you count the fingers. Try it. Put your hand in front of your face. How many fingers do you see? Pinky plus ring plus middle plus pointer equals four fingers.
Hunter found Arthur one night sitting in his room doodling with mathematical formulas only an elevated mind of a genius can make sense of. He wanted to know the answer. Arthur had taken a hold of Hunter’s hand and asked,
Arthur: How many do you see?
Hunter: There are four fingers, Arthur.
Arthur: No, no, look at me. You’re focusing on the problem. If you focus on the problem, you can’t see the solution. Never focus on the problem. Look at me! How many do you see?
Hunter looked beyond the fingers and changed his answer to eight.
Arthur: Eight! Yes! Eight is a good answer. See what no one else sees. See what everyone else chooses not to see out of fear and conformity and laziness.
This scene from the 1998 movie Patch Adams properly describes how a warrior-hearted man and woman approach the battle. They see what no one else sees. They look beyond the fingers, beyond the physical to where the battle really is.
Where the Battle Really Is!
You may recall the blog post from April 18, 2020 titled, “What’s Really Going On?”. The topic of discussion was the Samaritan’s Purse field hospital in New York City’s Central Park and the fierce opposition from the LGBTQ community. It was reported that this field hospital closed on May 4, 2020 as Mount Sinai Hospital, who initially invited Samaritan’s Purse to help, bowed to the fierce protest against their presence.
According to Corey Johnson’s twitter feed (a NYC Councilman), he wrote, “This group, led by the notoriously bigoted, hate-spewing Franklin Graham, came at a time when our city couldn’t in good conscience turn away any offer of help. That time has passed. Their continued presence here is an affront to our values of inclusion and is painful for all New Yorkers who care deeply about the LGBTQ community.”
Wait a second! Did Mr. Johnson just accuse Franklin Graham of taking advantage of New Yorker’s? Perhaps he missed the meeting where Mayor Bill de Blasio gave approval for this hospital. Samaritan’s Purse accepted the invitation and treated over 300 hundred people with COVID-19. A gesture of gratitude seems more in line than a tweet accusing Franklin Graham of treating their community exactly as Mr. Johnson is found to be treating them!
To focus on the protest against Samaritan’s Purse is to remain focused on the four fingers. The question is, what do you see when you look beyond the fingers?
Commanded To Bow Down
We have seen this before in history. Recall the account of three men taken into captivity by the Babylonians. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, captives who were appointed administrators over the province of Babylon in service to King Nebuchadnezzar.
The people were to assemble for the dedication of a gold statue made in the image of the king. All were commanded to bow and worship this image once the music stopped. Anyone who did not bow down on cue would be immediately thrown into the blazing furnace.
An obvious trap and a perfect scenario to employ the main strategy of the kingdom of darkness – to use fear of death as a tactic to gain control. Look at how Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, responded to the king’s attempt to persuade them to submit or face the consequence of death.
“King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and He will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if He does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
The conclusion of the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, was the realization by King Nebuchadnezzar that he was not above God. His threat of death had no real power and he praised the true God in response.
Samaritan’s Purse was not taken captive but rather invited to serve on hostile territory and they did it with excellence. The staff and volunteers treated everyone who came to their hospital with the same level of care and concern. There was no discrimination, no favoritism. If you were sick, you received the highest quality of care that they could give, period.
I applaud Franklin Graham and Samaritan’s Purse for standing firm by not bowing to the pressure out of fear and conformity. I thank them for their excellent service to the people of New York City. May God bless you and keep you.
