The Watchman’s Message as One Step Too Far
To keep people aware of what is going on, watchmen have the
unpleasant task of reporting on things that are coming but not yet arrived, or
on machinations as they are being planned, or on actions as they are being
implemented.
What makes it hard for the listener/reader is that this
information is almost always something they are unaware of and unprepared for
both mentally emotionally spiritually or physically.
The watchman’s warnings always seem to push the boundaries
of acceptability or credibility. With each blast of the horn it seems the
watchman has gone entirely too far in his indictments, or that he is attacking
a trusted icon/idol held far too dear, or that he has become far too explicit
in reporting the unsavory.
Each new message offends long before the shock of the last
message has worn off. The message itself is perceived as an assault – and so it
is.
Like an unrelenting torrent, what the watchman sees and
reports sweeps both watchman and his hearers away.
What may be unbelievable or unacceptable to the hearers today
becomes accepted fact weeks or months or even years down the road. But by then,
it has become far too late to do anything about it.
