day no. 16,928: doers and documenters

“Desperate times call for faithful men, and not for careful men. The careful men come later and write the biographies of the faithful men, lauding them for their courage.” — Douglas Wilson

The contrast between faithful men and careful men can be the difference between faith and unbelief, but it can also be the difference because the work of doing and the work of documenting. During the desperate times, doers are more needed than documenters, but once a deliverance from the desperation has been achieved, someone needs to write it down. Ideally, that someone should have been taken mental notes while lending their hands to the doers so that they're ready to put their hands to the pen once the crisis has been calmed.

1 Chronicles 11:9-11

So David waxed greater and greater: for the Lord of hosts was with him. These also are the chief of the mighty men whom David had, who strengthened themselves with him in his kingdom, and with all Israel, to make him king, according to the word of the Lord concerning Israel. And this is the number of the mighty men whom David had.

David was a great man and doer of deeds and so were his mighty men. That said, they were often too busy doing great deeds to take up a pen to write them down. That said, David did write down many things. He is an example of a great doer who also documented. There are also documenters whose contribution is their careful preservation of great men's achievements.

There are those who hide behind their pens and there are those who hide their hearts behind their busy hands. 

At the end of the day, someone has to be a protagonist and someone has to tell the story. There is a place for both kind of men. Without great deeds, stories fall flat or are embellished bits of propaganda. Without story tellers, great deeds are forgotten.

History is the handshake between great deeds and good reads.

Let those gifted with the duty to document not resent their station or envy their faithful brothers and may those gifted with gusto not belittle those carefully dedicated to protecting their reputations and preserving their legacies.

The one who shouts, "Geronimo, Amen!" often doesn't have time to write things like "Geronimo, Amen!" down for others to benefit from.