"Let the plains teach him."

Comanche Moon (2008) is a made for television movie based on the novel of the same name by Larry McMurtry. It’s the second of four parts in McMurtry’s “Lonesome Dove” saga. The novels tell the story of two Texas Rangers (Woodrow Call and Gus McCrae) from the beginning of their careers (in the 1840s) to the end. There’s a scene in Comanche Moon where the Rangers are out on patrol with an army unit. The army commander is Major Featherstonaugh, a fastidious Civil War veteran with no knowledge of the Comanche or the plains. He has the Rangers eating prunes because “Regular motions are essential on a mission like this.” Anyway, as they’re setting up camp he discovers he’s lost his compass. Gus offers him his own but that won’t do for Featherstonaugh. His compass was made in Reading, England and was a gift from his father. He must have it, so he rides off alone in search of it. As he rides away a Ranger comments to Gus, “It’s a waste of time arguing with men like that Captain.” Gus replies, “Agreed. Let the plains teach him.”*

The line jumped off the screen for me. What a perfect summary. Explaining, reasoning, arguing, debating… don’t waste your time. Featherstonaugh – vain, confident and clueless – wasn’t having a ‘teachable moment.’ But he would soon enough. Let the plains teach him.

Featherstonaugh was, in the biblical sense, a fool. He not only didn’t know what was going on around him. He didn’t know he didn’t know. Don’t waste your breath trying to explain it to him. Let the plains teach him.

I’m currently leading a Bible study on the book of Proverbs. It’s one of my favorite books. If Wisdom isn’t the most beautiful thing, it’s surely one of the most beautiful things God placed in creation. “Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed (Pro. 3:13-18).” Wow! How can you link up with her? The book of Proverbs tells us how: by humility (11:2), by receiving correction (12:1), by not being wise in our own eyes (3:7). And it tells us where it all begins, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (9:10).”

Call and McCrae became wise in the ways of the plains. They didn’t start out that way. The plains taught them. But they learned, and because they learned, they survived. The book of Proverbs makes it clear that we don’t start out wise (“Folly is bound up in the heart of a child” 22:15). Wisdom provides the opportunity to learn. If we take advantage of it, as we learn we’ll become wise. We’ll understand how life works and how we need to conduct ourselves in order to experience the kind of life we want. If we’re unwilling to learn, proud and wise in our own eyes, the folly in our heart grows and consumes us.

The wise and the fool are stock characters in Proverbs. They are different kinds of people on different paths with different experiences and different destinies. On the path of wisdom the wise experience security, blessing and satisfaction which culminates in life. On the path of folly the fools experience pain, frustration and disgrace, culminating in death.

Though Wisdom is beautiful, she runs a pretty tough class. It’s fair, it’s equal access, there’s no favoritism. She calls to all and offers her blessings to everyone who will listen. But she’s rather strict. If you won’t heed instruction she’ll let the plains teach you. She’s not mean or vindictive, she just knows there’s no point in trying to teach someone who isn’t willing to learn. You can roam the plains of life for a while. Run out of water, break your leg, get ambushed. Ready to learn yet? If so, pull up a chair. If not, take another trip.

It’s pretty simple. The pain of life may open us to the fear of the Lord, make us teachable and so enable us to begin to become wise. Or, if we remain proud and stubborn, we become prouder and stubborner, less inclined to wisdom, more thoroughly foolish. The process may go through several cycles but eventually Wisdom will stop wasting her breath. To confirmed fools she says: “If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you. But since you rejected me when I called and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand, since you ignored all my advice and would not accept my rebuke, I in turn will laugh at your disaster; I will mock when calamity overtakes you – when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you (Pro. 1:23-27).

She continues (now describing the fate of fools to the wise): “Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me. Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD, since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes (Pro. 1:28-31).

Or more simply, “It’s a waste of time arguing with someone like that. Let the plains teach him.”

* McMurtry also wrote the screenplay for the movie. The line does not occur in this scene in the book. In the movie the actual line is “Agreed. Let the plains do the arguing.” I’ve taken the liberty of condensing it to “Let he plains teach him.”