Blind Devotion or Just Plain Blind?

There is an age-old belief that permeates American society, and it goes something like this: "Marines follow orders through blind devotion to duty." The premise is that the Marine Corps is the most disciplined force in the history of mankind and without fail a U.S. Marine will follow orders until the task is complete or he is dead. Marines in World War I earned the name "Teufel Huenden" an Americanized translation of the German, Teufelshunde, which means "Devil Dog" for following orders in their relentless and ruthless pursuit of German soldiers in Belleau Wood one hundred years ago. History and Hollywood have bolstered that belief through stories of Marines in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam with movies like Full Metal Jacket (1987) and Platoon (1987).

As interesting and awe inspiring as that may be, the idea of blind devotion to duty is not uniquely a Marine Corps trait. The prophet Elijah and Israel's king Ahaziah dealt with a similar situation when Ahaziah sent for Baal-Zebub's counsel in the second book of Kings.

"Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers, saying to them, 'Go and consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if I will recover from this injury.'" (2 Kings 1:2, NIV)

Forget the fact that someone let the king's upper room fall to such disrepair that he fell through the lattice. Rather, what is interesting is that Ahaziah is maybe two generations removed (89 years & 8 kings) from the wisest king in the history of Israel, King Solomon, yet he prefers the counsel of Baal-Zebub over the God of Israel. But as the story unfolds we learn that Ahaziah sent three groups of soldiers, each fifty men strong and led by a captain, to "retrieve" Elijah.

Then he sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. The captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, "Man of God, the king says, 'Come down!'" Elijah answered the captain, "If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!" Then fire fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his men.

At this the king sent to Elijah another captain with his fifty men. The captain said to him, "Man of God, this is what the king says, 'Come down at once!'" "If I am a man of God," Elijah replied, "may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!" Then the fire of God fell from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men. (2 Kings 1:9-12, NIV)

Here's the thing. That whole idea of "blind devotion to duty" is wrong. It's a fallacy. It is laziness and poor judgment rolled into an excuse to not think or be responsible for one's own actions. Marines don't blindly follow orders like the first two captains in our Elijah/Ahaziah story. Marines have faith in their leadership, but back that faith up with training, intelligence, and a strong moral compass. (Laugh all you want, but morality and ethics are part of the Marine Corps ethos.) A real Marine will always strive to find a better way and still accomplish the mission – like our third captain.

"So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. 'Man of God,' he begged, 'please have respect for my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants! See, fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now have respect for my life!' The angel of the Lord said to Elijah, 'Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.' So Elijah got up and went down with him to the king." (2 Kings 1:13-15, NIV)

The moral of the story for every Christian today is to be faithful to God who knows the plan and the outcome, even in the face of an impossible challenge. Use the tools God has given to test what you see and hear and to know that it is right. The first captain's actions were excusable. Maybe he could have known that following Ahaziah's orders was a bad idea, but likely not. The second captain was a fool who clearly led fifty men to their deaths because he was unable to learn from his predecessor. But the third captain was true both to his master and his men because he saw the situation for what it was – untenable – and he found a better way.

Blind devotion to duty is a myth. Find a better way.

Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"

"Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him."

Jesus said, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you."

Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him.

Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."

Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, "What? Are we blind too?"

Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains. (John 9:35-41, NIV)

– Mark Klages is an influential contributor, a former US Marine and a lifelong teacher who focuses on applying a Christian worldview to everyday events. Mark blogs at https://maklagesl3.wixsite.com/website under the title "God Provides where Hate Divides," with a heart to heal social, political, relational, and intellectual wounds through God's divine love and grace. Mark can also be found on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-klages-04b42511/.