Baptist News Global
Sections
  • News
  • Opinion
    • Letters to the Editor
  • Curated
  • Storytelling
    • Faith & Justice >
      • Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield
      • Charlotte: QC Family Tree with Greg and Helms Jarrell
    • Welcoming the Stranger >
      • Lost Boys of Sudan: St. John’s Baptist Charlotte
      • Awakening to Immigrant Justice: Myers Park Baptist Church
      • Hospitality on the corner: Gaston Christian Center
    • Signature Ministries >
      • Jake Hall: Gospel Gothic, Music and Radio
    • Singing Our Faith >
      • Hymns for a Lifetime: Ken Wilson and Knollwood Baptist Church
    • Resilient Rural America >
      • Alabama: Perry County
      • Texas: Hidalgo County
      • Arkansas Delta
  • More
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donate
    • Advertising
    • Ministry Jobs and More
    • Transitions
Support independent, faith-based journalism. Donate
Search Search this site

Atlas didn’t shrug: An inauguration reminder of the things we must always lift high

OpinionSusan Sparks  |  January 20, 2017

Sparks_SusanThis week, I was moved to read two very different books. First, inspired by the MLK holiday weekend, I read a collection of Dr. King’s prayers. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, I felt a personal need to reread Ayn Rand’s classic, Atlas Shrugged.

If you are scratching your head and asking, “Why?” I understand. They are two of the most opposite thinkers imaginable. Dr. King describes a philosophy of bearing each other’s burdens and raising up the oppressed. Ayn Ryan talks about the mighty shrugging off the poor.

I was drawn to her book for two reasons. Part of its interest is the parallel to our current political environment. The novel heralds the wealthy, the haves of society, as the good people, or as the book calls them, “the innovators.” Alternatively, the poor are portrayed as giving no value back and are referred to as “looters.” The innovators believe that the government is stealing their money and redistributing it to the undeserving masses. They complain about bearing the weight of the rest of the world on their shoulders. While the novel was written in 1957, its words ring tragically true 60 years later.

The other reason I was drawn to the book is the title. In Greek mythology, Atlas, after being vanquished in battle, was sentenced to hold up the heavens on his shoulders. After the recent election battle, many of us have also felt the increasing weight of the world sinking down on our shoulders. While there are a myriad of things that contribute to that weight, such as money, work, relationships or health, much of the weight, at least for Americans, is the worry about what is next, what is to come. A new world, a new administration dawns in front of us. It’s one we don’t know much about; it’s one we can’t predict. And the unknown generates worry and fear — the heaviest of all weights.

At first glance, the title, Atlas Shrugged, offers some momentary comfort: the idea that we can shrug that weight off our shoulders. Yes, there are things we should shrug off like anger, hatred, doubt, or the worry and fear about what is next. However, today our focus must be on what we can’t put down. What we can’t shrug off. Things like justice, equality, dignity, and love; things at which the rich “innovators” in the novel would scoff, yet things for which the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. died. The best lesson for today? Combine Ayn Rand’s title and Dr. King’s philosophy: Atlas Didn’t Shrug.

One of Dr. King’s prayers that I read was a spiritual plea he raised in 1956 after he received a phone call from a white supremacist who threated his life, his home, and his family. He prayed these words in the kitchen of his Montgomery, Ala., home: “Lord, I am here taking a stand for what I believe is right. But now I am afraid. The people are looking to me for leadership, and if I stand before them without strength and courage, they too will falter. I am at the end of my powers. I have nothing left. I’ve come to the point where I can’t face it alone.”

We all can find ourselves at the end of our powers, where we have nothing left, where we can’t face it alone, and where there’s no relief in sight. That was definitely true for Dr. King. His burden did not lift. Month after month, year after year, he faced the crushing weight of death threats, violence, hatred, and evil.

In 1963, five long years after that telephone call to his home in Montgomery, Dr. King delivered his powerful “I Have a Dream” speech on the mall in Washington — a moment of hope and joy and inspiration for all. A moment where one might believe that the weight had begun to lift. Yet, two short weeks later, Dr. King was presiding over the funeral of Yet, two short weeks later, Dr. King was presiding over the funeral of four little girls killed in the bombing of a Birmingham church. 

Like us, Dr. King had to wonder — over and over — what lies ahead? What is next? But while the ultimate future of his dream was unclear, the path to that dream was not. His work was clear and so is ours.

Today, we face a world where justice is not sure, where civil rights warriors are disrespected by side-liners who never marched or fought, and where the fate of the poor leans dangerously close to the pages of Atlas Shrugged. As my friend Ken Sehested explained: “It has become too easy to revere the dreamer but renege on the dream.”

We must hold up the weight of righteousness, lift high the cross of justice, and stand firm under the heavy demands of equality, mercy, and love. And we have to do it every day.

President Barak Obama explained it in powerful, yet practical terms in his outgoing speech last week: “We need to be jealous guardians of our democracy … Not just when there’s an election, not just when your own narrow interest is at stake, but over the full span of a lifetime. If you’re tired of arguing with strangers on the Internet, try talking with one of them in real life. If something needs fixing, then lace up your shoes and do some organizing. If you’re disappointed by your elected officials, grab a clipboard, get some signatures, and run for office yourself. Show up. Dive in. Stay at it.”

Perhaps the most important words from that quote are the last three: “stay at it.” No matter how heavy the weight feels, we must keep going. As Dr. King said: “If you can’t fly, run. If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl. But by all means, keep moving.”

We may be a people loaded down with what feels like an impossible burden, a post-election sentence even, but we must keep moving. We must keep supporting and holding up the work of justice. And we must never give up. For brothers and sisters, we are Atlas.

And Atlas did not shrug.


OPINION: Views expressed in Baptist News Global columns and commentaries are solely those of the authors.
Susan Sparks
More by
Susan Sparks
  • Email Signup

    Get Baptist News Global logoBNG headlines in your inbox

  • Embracing the power of story

    Like the rising river in the Arkansas Delta, the persistence of poverty still looms just over the levee, threatening to wash young people down paths of violence, drugs, food insecurity, unemployment, and early death.

    We share a new series in BNG’s Storytelling Projects “Arkansas Delta” as part of our "resilient rural America" theme.

    This series will address the precise focus on literacy and leadership development to build children’s imaginations, the story of Swim Camp where children and teenagers not only learn to swim but learn to pursue leadership, and video interviews of those connected to Together for Hope Arkansas.

    At the center of Arkansas Delta’s fight against poverty and division: an 85-year-old swimming pool

    Imagination is the greatest threat to Delta poverty, Together for Hope Arkansas says

    We created Storytelling Projects because we believe stories, rooted in the Jesus Story, have the power not only to inform but to transform people and communities. They can be sources of spiritual insight, imagination, creativity and hope for all who seek justice and mercy.
  • Featured

    • Clergy sex scandal proves Dale Moody was right about ‘once-saved-always-saved’ as a dangerous heresy

      Opinion

    • Abuse survivors, activists to rally ‘for such a time as this’ a second time

      News

    • SBC president calls for investigation of churches accused of harboring sexual predators

      News

    • Al Mohler says he was wrong about C.J. Mahaney

      News

    Get BNG headlines in your inbox

    Read Next:

    Ordained. Baptist. Female. And, now, entering retirement

    OpinionKathy Manis Findley

    More Articles

    • All
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Curated
    • Turn around and walk against the system of sexism in the Church

      OpinionJon Singletary

    • Tim Tebow makes the Christian movie he’s always wanted to see

      CuratedReligion News Service

    • Five decades after alleged abuse, Texas man cheers proposed Baptists’ changes

      CuratedNBC News

    • Pastor counsels churches to greet disabled with compassion, not exclusion or fear

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Abuse survivors, activists to rally ‘for such a time as this’ a second time

      NewsBob Allen

    • Clergy sex scandal proves Dale Moody was right about ‘once-saved-always-saved’ as a dangerous heresy

      OpinionAlan Bean

    • The problem of ‘evil’ in describing Southern Baptist abuse crisis

      CuratedReligion Dispatches/Carol Howard Merritt

    • Appeals court favors Baptist convention in university, home cases

      CuratedJefferson City News Tribune

    • SBC president calls for investigation of churches accused of harboring sexual predators

      NewsBob Allen

    • Ordained. Baptist. Female. And, now, entering retirement

      OpinionKathy Manis Findley

    • Southern Baptist president says database of abusers possible

      CuratedAssociated Press

    • The survivors of clergy sexual abuse who finally pushed the Vatican to recognize the problem

      CuratedThe Conversation

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Al Mohler says he was wrong about C.J. Mahaney

      NewsBob Allen

    • Some pastors optimistic about Millennials, church growth. Stats don’t bear them out.

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • The national conversation about sexual abuse by Baptist clergy is important. But it doesn’t go far enough

      OpinionPeggy Haymes

    • Vatican defrocks former US cardinal McCarrick over sex abuse

      CuratedAssociated Press

    • CBF continues ‘daily bread’ ministry to Central American migrants

      Paid Promoted Content

    • Religion Notes: New CBF leader headed for Texas; GWU elects new president

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Church with deported member premieres podcast about injustice in U.S. immigration system

      NewsBob Allen

    • Can Christians come together to reduce the need for abortion?

      OpinionSusan M. Shaw

    • Leading Southern Baptist apologizes for supporting leader, church at center of sex abuse scandal

      CuratedHouston Chronicle

    • Southern Baptist minister list included sex offenders

      CuratedReligion News Service

    • Jerry Johnson resigns as NRB president

      CuratedBaptist Press

    • Pray for immigrants? We need them to pray for us, minister-activist says

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Pastor counsels churches to greet disabled with compassion, not exclusion or fear

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Abuse survivors, activists to rally ‘for such a time as this’ a second time

      NewsBob Allen

    • SBC president calls for investigation of churches accused of harboring sexual predators

      NewsBob Allen

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Al Mohler says he was wrong about C.J. Mahaney

      NewsBob Allen

    • Some pastors optimistic about Millennials, church growth. Stats don’t bear them out.

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Religion Notes: New CBF leader headed for Texas; GWU elects new president

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Church with deported member premieres podcast about injustice in U.S. immigration system

      NewsBob Allen

    • Pray for immigrants? We need them to pray for us, minister-activist says

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Transitions for the week of 2-15-18

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Survivor says SBC leaders’ response to abuse revelations little help to victims

      NewsBob Allen

    • CBF missions initiative helps students ‘see the bigger picture of what God is doing’

      News

      Paid Promoted ContentAshleigh Bugg

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Newspaper story on sexual abuse in SBC was a long time coming for activist Christa Brown

      NewsBob Allen

    • Religion Notes: Many young adults believe while most aren’t so sure

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Key gospel imperative lost in the hubub of a 24-hour news cycle

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Southern Baptist lawmakers leading the way in seeking Johnson Amendment repeal

      NewsBob Allen

    • CBF leader denounces plan to loosen restrictions on payday loans

      NewsBob Allen

    • Transitions for the week of 2-8-19

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • ‘We’re all missionaries.’ CBF’s Foushees seek to embody mission of mutual support in Tokyo

      News

      Paid Promoted ContentBlake Tommey

    • Western Recorder, second-oldest Southern Baptist newspaper, surrenders control to Kentucky Baptist Convention

      NewsBob Allen

    • Religion Notes: Melissa Rogers returns to WF Divinity; BWA protests arrest of Baptist leader

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Virginia senate passes bill to allow Bible classes in public schools

      NewsBob Allen

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Pastor-chaplain confronts the bad theology facing women in ministry and grieving parents

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Turn around and walk against the system of sexism in the Church

      OpinionJon Singletary

    • Clergy sex scandal proves Dale Moody was right about ‘once-saved-always-saved’ as a dangerous heresy

      OpinionAlan Bean

    • Ordained. Baptist. Female. And, now, entering retirement

      OpinionKathy Manis Findley

    • The national conversation about sexual abuse by Baptist clergy is important. But it doesn’t go far enough

      OpinionPeggy Haymes

    • Can Christians come together to reduce the need for abortion?

      OpinionSusan M. Shaw

    • 3 faulty assumptions that keep Baptist churches from hiring female pastors

      OpinionDoyle Sager

    • Paul didn’t pen 1 Corinthians 13 for weddings and Valentine’s Day celebrations

      OpinionNora Lozano

    • Pablo no escribió 1 Corintios 13 para bodas y celebraciones del Día de San Valentín

      OpinionNora O. Lozano

    • Black lives matter to me. Tragically, they mattered little in my segregated upbringing

      OpinionMolly T. Marshall

    • Our culture needs Jesus followers with the wisdom to navigate between righteous anger and gospel tenderness

      OpinionBill Leonard

    • My seminary has closed. But churches are closing too, and it’s time to face some hard questions

      OpinionElizabeth Mangham Lott

    • Evangelicals have lost moral credibility. But there are signs of self-confrontation that could lead to reconciliation, even revival

      OpinionPaul Robeson Ford

    • Why ministers shouldn’t walk away from social media

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • Gov. Northam is not an outlier: American Christianity’s tolerance for white supremacy

      OpinionWendell Griffen

    • Flight or invisibility: revisiting a classic theological question

      OpinionBrett Younger

    • Letter to the Editor – Queen Did Not Discover Jesus

      Exclude from home page

      OpinionBNG staff

    • Being ‘barely Christian’ as a way of being authentically Christian

      OpinionMolly T. Marshall

    • Letters to the Editor for 02.01.19

      OpinionBNG staff

    • Our disaster-relief success hasn’t moved the needle in addressing poverty. We need to ask why

      OpinionCraig Nash

    • Discovering the human Jesus opens new possibilities for becoming more like Jesus

      OpinionChuck Queen

    • A church for all who wander: the ministry of ‘bringing back’

      OpinionBill Wilson

    • In a culture of shouting, people of faith must address America’s listening deficit

      OpinionJonathan Davis

    • Why CBF exists: to serve congregations and help them thrive

      OpinionPaul Baxley

    • Legislating ‘In God We Trust’: using the state to do the Church’s work

      OpinionBill Leonard

    • Hidden pencils, urgent warnings and instructions Mary Oliver left the Church

      OpinionCarol Davis Younger

    • Tim Tebow makes the Christian movie he’s always wanted to see

      CuratedReligion News Service

    • Five decades after alleged abuse, Texas man cheers proposed Baptists’ changes

      CuratedNBC News

    • The problem of ‘evil’ in describing Southern Baptist abuse crisis

      CuratedReligion Dispatches/Carol Howard Merritt

    • Appeals court favors Baptist convention in university, home cases

      CuratedJefferson City News Tribune

    • Southern Baptist president says database of abusers possible

      CuratedAssociated Press

    • The survivors of clergy sexual abuse who finally pushed the Vatican to recognize the problem

      CuratedThe Conversation

    • Vatican defrocks former US cardinal McCarrick over sex abuse

      CuratedAssociated Press

    • Leading Southern Baptist apologizes for supporting leader, church at center of sex abuse scandal

      CuratedHouston Chronicle

    • Southern Baptist minister list included sex offenders

      CuratedReligion News Service

    • Jerry Johnson resigns as NRB president

      CuratedBaptist Press

    • Southern Baptist Convention report on sex abuse shines a light on evangelical culture

      CuratedNBC News

    • Tornado damaged Alabama church returns $25,000 casino donation

      CuratedThe Associated Press

    • ‘Brewery church’ is the latest in craft of luring folks to church

      CuratedReligion News Service

    • 1619: 400 years ago, a ship arrived in Virginia, bearing human cargo

      CuratedUSA Today

    • To Baptist clergy sex abuse survivors: 10 tips from the trenches

      CuratedReligion News Service/David Clohessy and Christa Brown

    • The religious-liberty claim the justices didn’t want to hear

      CuratedThe Atlantic

    • Southern Baptist leaders vow to improve addressing sex abuse after papers’ report

      CuratedReligion News Service

    • Abuse of Faith

      CuratedHouston Chronicle

    • Convicted for taking water to thirsty people

      CuratedThe Christian Century

    • President Trump’s gaffe touts ‘abolition of civil rights’ at National Prayer Breakfast

      CuratedUSA Today

    • Nadia Bolz-Weber’s gospel of shame-free sexuality

      CuratedChristianity Today

    • As Southern Baptists mull executive vacancies, will diversity play a role?

      CuratedReligion News Service

    • Died: Yechiel Eckstein, rabbi who rallied evangelical support for Israel

      CuratedChristianity Today

    • Lawsuit against ex-judge, Southern Baptist churches drawing to a close

      CuratedHouston Chronicle

    • Who worries about hell the most

      CuratedARDA

    Conversations that Matter.

    © 2019 Baptist News Global. All rights reserved.

    Want to share a story? We hope you will! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here.

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Google+
    • LinkedIn
    • RSS