Expanding Your Story - History

In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, defender of the Faith, etc.

Having undertaken, for the Glory of God, and advancements of the Christian faith and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God, and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic; for our better ordering, and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.

In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape Cod the 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, 1620.

 The above is the Mayflower Compact which was the first governing document of the Plymouth Colony. The entire text is interesting and worth repeating here, but the bold part is what I really want to discuss.

This was their purpose. To bring glory to G-d, advance the Christian faith, and bring honor to their king and country. If you think about each of those three things they are not indulgent and self promoting goals. In fact of the 120 colonists that began the voyage only 53 survived to the famous Thanksgiving Dinner. So they were hardly surviving let alone becoming rich through the venture. Their statement of purpose speaks to the fact that they viewed their mission there to be one of being a stepping stone for those to come after.

Their sacrifice enabled later colonists to establish a foothold in the new world with much less pain than they would have had otherwise. These future arrivals would be the ones to build and expand and really bring about the establishment of even the Plymouth colony itself.

How does a group of people set out to undertake such a task when all they will personally get is hardship and for most of them premature death? What kind of motivation could possibly drive people to do that?

I believe a significant motivation for them was context.They viewed themselves to be part of the larger fabric of history. They had experienced numerous challenges in the old world. They saw colonizing the new world as an opportunity to build a place where people could live and worship free from the restrictions of the old world.

They held to a narrative that encouraged them to put their comfort and lives on the line in order that those who would come later could enjoy the freedom they dreampt of. Without that context. The ability to look back and see what had happened, and the hope that their actions would bring fruit they would have never come. They would have lived their lives in the old world with no vision for a better future. For them or anyone else.

It is impossible to take decisive actions for the benefit of faceless future generations if you do not see yourself within the larger context of history. If there is only the here and now you are completely relegated to short term and selfish motivations and actions. When we have kids or want to have them it isn't too hard to plan and work to create a better future for them. You feel some connection. Some association. But do you have a strong enough narrative to take decisive action for the future of your country? Do you see your life in a large enough context to leave behind the comforts of the familiar to adventure into the unknown and possibly die for the advancement of your faith?

We all have different purposes and callings, but we will never meet our full potential if we do not know where we have come from, and if we do not have a vision for the future.