A Failed Mission

Johnny was a third-generation Naval Officer in the U.S. Navy. Like his father and grandfather before him, he was a high-ranking Admiral who served in the South China Sea. From his childhood he was bred to continue in the family tradition of Naval service. Growing up, he lived and dreamed everything Navy. All of his toys were warships and soldiers, and his room was decorated in nautical style, from the boat-shaped cherry wood bed frame to the large porthole window overlooking the family’s backyard pool.

Johnny loved his career, and he especially loved the layovers in exotic countries such as Malaysia and The Philippines. In fact, he loved these layovers a little too much. A day out sightseeing with his buddies gradually turned into extended drinking parties at local bars. Some days Johnny could barely walk back to the ship without the supporting shoulders of his friends. As the years of service passed, he grew more enamored with the for-hire Asian beauties and the lustful lifestyle he was leading. Eventually, he began to love the time off more than his career- who could resist all of the Asian delicacies and tropical beaches? Didn’t he deserve to live the good life, too? Why should he work so hard while everyone else had all the fun?

After thinking with this rationale for an extended period of time, Johnny had had enough of his life in the Navy. So one day, during a layover in Manila, he grabbed his few belongings and took off without telling anyone. He was determined to spend the next part of his life indulging his senses, from basking in the hot rays of the Asian sun to spending his nights dancing and drinking with his new group of friends. After all, he reasoned, wasn’t this what life was all about? Living it up, having the most fun you can until you die? Well, that was Johnny’s new mantra, and he was loving every minute of it.

Life was great- until one day, while Johnny was laying in bed, trying to recover from his hangover with his bloody Mary, he was suddenly accosted by two strange men. Looking like Secret Service agents with dark sunglasses and all, they quickly grabbed him and dragged him while still in his boxers, to a black van complete with tinted windows. They gagged him to muffle his shouts of protests, handcuffed him, and blindfolded him so he wouldn’t see where he was being taken.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but he realized that he was being flown to a place far away. He ended up being court-martialed in the U.S. Naval base in Guam.  This was serious. Johnny was terrified. He soon found himself standing in front of an intimidating-looking Judge. The Prosecutor was to his right, armed with a large file on his desk. As for the Defending Attorney, well, Johnny realized that he had to provide his own defense. This was not good.

Quickly and expertly, the prosecutor read out loud each offense that Johnny had committed, from the time he secretly left his position to each day leading up until that moment. As he heard the long list of accusations, his stomach dropped. Suddenly he felt faint. How in the world did they know what he did every day? Were they watching him on some secret satellite Naval T.V. station? Did he have a tracking device implanted without his knowledge when he joined the Navy?

When it was his turn to defend his actions, he couldn’t speak. He tried to explain his thoughts- that he just wanted to live and  be left alone; that he was tired of working so hard without a life; that he also deserved to have fun- but nothing intelligible came out of his mouth. The judge, with his piercing eyes that seemed to look right through Johnny, seemed to know what he was thinking as well, and stated everything that was on Johnny’s mind. His jaw dropped- how did the judge know?

These arguments weren’t much of a defense, and Johnny was quickly sentenced to jail for 6 months, to be followed by a dishonorable discharge. What a disgrace to the family, he lamented. He walked out of the court with his head bowed low in shame. How could this happen to him?

Did you know that there is a Heavenly Court waiting for us when we leave this world? One day, we will also have to face them and the scene won’t be much different than what I have described. We will have to stand and listen to the Prosecution’s case, and do our best to defend our actions. Most importantly, though, is what we will have to say for ourselves when we are asked why we didn’t complete our missions on earth. “What mission?” many of us might ask. Then we will be shown the contract that we signed before we came down to earth, agreeing to accomplish our designated tasks. What will we have to say, then? That we were too caught up in the false, glittering materialism of this world to focus on what we were destined to do?

What will we say when they ask us where all of the people we were supposed to help were? Or where all the lives we were supposed to save through our sharing efforts, whether through time, money, or careers? Or the children that were entrusted to us- did we ensure they grew up in the best way that they needed? Did they grow up in purity and holiness? What about the spouses we were supposed to honor?

These are big and scary questions- that is, if we haven’t been accomplishing our missions. With a new year just in the beginning stages, now is a great time to refocus our life’s goals and values. What are we living for? I know of too many people whose main focus in life is their weekend dinners, what’s on T.V., and where their next vacation is.

Is that what our lives are supposed to be about? Did G-d go through all that work to create a universe and world that sustains us just so we can go out for dinner on Friday night?

This weekend, instead of making plans for another purposeless night out, go for a walk and talk to G-d about your life. Is it filled with goals that are larger than your personal desires? Do you know yet what you are supposed to accomplish in your lifetime? If not, wouldn’t it be wise to ask G-d to help you figure it out?

Remember, nothing in this world was created without a purpose. Even the lowliest amoeba has a mission to accomplish in its lifetime. Could it be possible that you don’t?