Written by Larry Ball | Sunday, July 20, 2014

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At times, the illusion appears to be so true. It seems difficult to deny. We are a nation of great wealth. Indeed, for most Americans “Life is good.” However, like Babel, the kingdoms of man will fail. The nature of man does not change. Original sin still reigns in the hearts of mankind. A handsome body in a coffin is still dead. Diving into a cesspool is still perilous. History is the story of kingdoms that rise and wane.

Rudyard Kipling penned his poem “The Gods of the Copybook Headings” in 1919 after the tragedy of World War I. He lost one son in that war. In 1917 the Tsar of Russia was deposed, and Marxist socialism was presenting itself as the hope of the world. In the west, social planners were casting off the shackles of Christianity and starting to build a new city dedicated to the ingenuity of man. This was Kipling’s world. In his poem, Kipling encapsulates the grand illusion that man can ignore eternal truths and live without negative consequences.

Copybooks were books with blank pages for practicing penmanship by students in the 19th century British schools. A moral maxim appeared at the top of each page and the student was responsible to copy the adage on each line below the heading. Some of those headings reflected biblical truths such as “The Wages of Sin is Death,” and “If you don’t work you die.” These were considered timeless truths for all mankind in all ages. In Kipling’s poem, these headings were considered gods because they reflected truths that were everlasting and unchangeable.

Prominent in this poem is the description of the repetitive attempt of man to ignore these maxims and thus fool himself. Kipling presents this as deception — that man can circumvent old truths by creating a world in which he can transgress God’s law without penalty. However, it’s really nothing new. It’s just a duplication of history. According to the new man, the old proverbs do not apply anymore. The wages of sin is not death. God can be ignored and man can enjoy the good life. The plans of the new man always succeed to some degree, and maybe this is the most dangerous attribute of this fantasy. It works for a period of time.

We live in a world of illusion today. We have rejected biblical law and believe that we can sin without impunity. We have changed our language to accommodate the new utopia. Abortion terminates a fetus who is not a child. The pill gives freedom to enjoy sex outside of marriage. Homosexual marriage is simply the recognition of love between people of the same gender. Pornography is not adultery. Wealth is created by printing more dollars. Debt is the road to prosperity, and pleasure is the path to happiness. Man is defined by his rights and not by his character. As Kipling said in his poem “all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins.”

At times, the illusion appears to be so true. It seems difficult to deny. We are a nation of great wealth. Indeed, for most Americans “Life is good.” However, like Babel, the kingdoms of man will fail. The nature of man does not change. Original sin still reigns in the hearts of mankind. A handsome body in a coffin is still dead. Diving into a cesspool is still perilous. History is the story of kingdoms that rise and wane. Kipling goes on to say that “The Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow return to her Mire.”

If man refuses to be regulated by eternal truth, then he will create a world of destruction. Truth will always come back to haunt him. The biblical injunction is forever true: “Be sure your sin will find you out” (Num. 32:23). Kipling put it as follows: “As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn, The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return.”

Larry E. Ball is a Honorably Retired Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church in America and is working as a CPA. He lives in Kingsport, Tennessee.