September 10

Destruction!

The slackness in one contributes to the effectiveness of destruction.


Proverbs 18

9 One who is slack in his work

is brother to one who destroys.

In WWII bored German soldiers were assigned to watch hundreds of Jewish prisoners working in the German V2 Rocket program. Day after day they watched these haggard slaves labor build and carve out caverns in the mountain which hid the deadly rockets intended for launch against Britain. Because this was lackluster duty the soldiers gradually slacked in their duty, grew careless in their watch, smoked their cigarettes and joked as Jewish slaves passed them by like so many nameless ants.

What they didn’t know was that the unusual amount of unsuccessful launches could not be attributed to poor engineering. They were not diligent in observing the prisoners. What the soldiers didn’t know was that while they relaxed the slaves were sabotaging the German rocket program. The prisoners, on the other hand, were going deep into the cavern where the rockets were stored.

As a result of slackness the German guards did not observe that their captives were urinating on the delicate electronic circuit boards. Consequently the rocket circuits failed and sent the deadly rockets careening off course or into the ocean. The slackness in one contributes to the effectiveness of destruction. In this case destruction was good because it was thwarting evil. Furthermore, it saved Britain from worse destruction by the Nazis.

Proverbs 18

9 One who is slack in his work

is brother to one who destroys.