Because the young man was wearing a NY Yankees hat, my husband Mark asked the guy, “Are you a fan?” and pointed to his hat.
The young man, probably in his 20’s replied, “No, I just like the hat.”
That information did not deter my husband from talking, however. (Nothing ever does.) “Do you know who the greatest Yankee of all time is?” he asked him.
“No,” said the young man.
“Mickey Mantle,” said Mark with a big smile.
“Never heard of him,” said the young man.
I think it broke Mark’s heart.
But that’s not the saddest story Mark told me. The saddest story Mark told me happened last week. He was talking to a 20-year-old fellow about sports.
“Do you play golf?” Mark asked.
“No,” the young man replied.
Not letting that information deter Mark, he continued, “You know what Mark Twain said about golf?”
“No,” he answered.
“He said that golf was a good walk spoiled.”
The young man chuckled appropriately.
Mark should have stopped there, but he did not. “Do you know who Mark Twain is?”
“No,” he answered.
That’s a really sad story. It broke my heart.
I used to think that Ray Bradbury’s prediction that one day it would be a fireman’s job to burn books would never come true, but if it did happen it would be a sad thing. (Ray Bradbury wrote the book Farenheit 451 in 1953, in case you didn’t know.) I used to think that George Orwell’s prediction that one day it would be against the law to read books might actually happen and if it did it would be a sad sad thing. (George Orwell wrote 1984 in 1949, in case you didn’t know.) Now I realize that Aldous Huxley’s prediction that one day there would be no books at all because people were not interested in reading would be the saddest thing of all to happen and it might occur in my lifetime! (Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World in 1932, in case you didn’t know.)
Recently, I read this: “According to a 2021 estimate, just over one-third of U.S. adults reads the Bible once a week or more, while half read the Bible less than twice a year (including ‘never’). A 2021 survey found that only 9% of respondents read their Bible on a daily basis.”*
Now that’s a really really sad story.
I have read all the dystopian novels mentioned (of course I have!) and I do recommend them but they are difficult reads because the future—according to Bradbury, Orwell, and Huxley—is a very bleak world where a frightening, ugly, and offensive culture reigns supreme. Of course, if you want to read a book where the future predicted is really bleak, read the Bible! But that frightening future is only true if you are on the wrong side of the law—so to speak. And that would be the saddest story of all. It would break God’s heart.
However, that is not the whole story. For if you are on the right side of the law (i.e. standing with Christ), there is for you a bright future where a forgiving, glorious, and gracious God reigns supreme. But don’t take my word for it. Read it for yourself. It is the greatest story of all.