A Root out of Dry Ground

A Short History of the Commonwealth of Israel

Page 1 — Background

Father and Son

Elbert Eugene Spriggs, Sr. lived in Chattanooga, Tennessee. A factory worker and scoutmaster, Mr. Spriggs was well respected by all who knew him. His strong religious beliefs were reflected in a life of good deeds. In 1937 a son was born to him, Elbert, Jr., whom he called by the nickname "Gene." Mr. Spriggs was delighted to have a son and hoped that his namesake would grow up to follow in his footsteps.

Gene loved and respected his father and wanted to please him. But as he grew, the pressures of his peers proved too much for him, and by high school he found himself doing things he knew were wrong. Though others might have smiled and said, "Kids will be kids," Gene's father never approved of the wild parties, smoking, and drinking common to teenagers. And Gene's popularity as a good football player had put him right in the center of the teenage scene.

Outwardly Gene seemed to prosper, being voted May King by his peers and winning a football scholarship to the university. Because of how he was raised, however, his conscience was troubled. He was failing to live up to the strong Christian standards his father had instilled into him. This sense of guilt caused him to enter into a marriage at nineteen before he was prepared for the responsibilities of such a commitment. This marriage was very short-lived.

When Gene graduated from college, he found himself conscripted to serve in the US Army. Because of his university education he was assigned to do psychological testing for the new recruits. He served his time in the Army and was discharged after being named "best soldier" in his unit.

Gene pursued his chosen profession as a school teacher and guidance counselor. Once again he married, hoping this time to find a lasting relationship. After a few years of teaching in high school, he was offered a job in management by Dixie Yarns, the carpet manufacturer his father had worked for all his life. The company was opening two new plants, and Gene was given the responsibility of hiring the hundreds of workers needed to run the facilities. For several years Gene was the personnel manager of the company. There he was well respected and excelled in his work, even being chosen as secretary for the Rotary Club.

But the principles that his father had put into Gene still caused him to suffer, and the choices he made in order to fit in to the "fast lane" of the executive lifestyle caused him great inner conflict. His second marriage came to an end.

Gene could not find peace in his conscience as a business executive, so he took a job offer which would give him opportunity to see the world. He became a tour director for a large travel company. But just like the executive scene, the carefree lifestyle of the tourist business also caused Gene inner conflict.

The death of his father affected Gene profoundly, as well. On his deathbed, Mr. Spriggs urged Gene to "give his life to God." Without really understanding what it would mean, he promised his father that he would. But Gene was still caught up in the life of the turbulent 60's, and once again he entered a relationship with a woman, looking for happiness. Not comfortable with the loose morality society was promoting, he married her. But his life was still in upheaval, and like so many people at the time, he was looking for a change.

When the new marriage had problems, Gene decided to visit relatives in California and look for a new line of work there. On the way to California he stopped in Alabama to visit a friend who owned a carnival. When his friend asked him to stay for a few days and run one of his concessions, Gene accepted the offer just for fun. (Ironically, this brief fling in a friend's carnival is the one detail that most media reports have seized upon and distorted into the label "former carnival barker." It speaks volumes about the motives of both the reporters and their "sources" that Gene is not called a "former manufacturing executive" or "former high school teacher" or "former Rotary Club secretary.")

That short stint in the carnival (a couple of weeks) was very significant, however. It was here that Gene finally came to grips with the words his dying father spoke while holding his hand: "Give your life to God, Gene!" For here he faced the human degradation of people who were not cultured enough to hide their wretched condition. Walking down the center of the midway, Gene saw vividly the depths to which mankind had sunk. He looked at all the freaks, the cheating, the immorality, and the mockery rising up on both sides of him, and it broke his heart. In his distress he heard a question deep inside his soul, "Is this why I created you?" It was a very disturbing question. It was not just a personal question but an earthshaking question, with implications for all of mankind. The question was overwhelming, and Gene was unable to answer.

Gene walked out of that carnival and did not return. He went to his hotel room and got down on his knees, crying out to the One who had asked him that question. He told His Creator that he knew the way he was living was not what he had been created for. He expressed deep sorrow for how he had let his life run out of control since he had been a teenager. He did not know what he had been created to do, but he wanted to be saved from the sins that kept him from doing it. And he wanted others to find out what they were created for, too.

He was thirty-three years old. This new turn in his life caused great strain on his new marriage. The woman had no interest in living with someone preoccupied with such questions as what people were created for. He was not the same man she had married, and she wanted nothing to do with him. The marriage ended.

Gene continued his trip to California, but with a whole new motivation. All he wanted was to surrender to his Creator and do whatever he had been created for.

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