The Lowly Carp

Fishing for fish and fishing for men formed a unique combination in my childhood years. Recently, in my life’s major effort of fishing for men as Jesus said (Luke 5:10), I returned to my boyhood hometown of Baldwinsville, New York. To my great surprise, I discovered a rather demeaned fishing catch had taken a stunning turn.

A recent edition of a periodical called Canal Times, which touts the verities of the New York Barge Canal and its current recreational traffic and associated events, featured an article on a carp fishing tournament. The venue was, of all places, Baldwinsville, NY. Other carp tournaments are popping up in many other places.

Carp? Yes, carp! That despised junk fish that, in our youth, we caught accidentally, and, if caught on purpose, received the disdain of older fishing experts who muttered "Carp!" under their breath as a muted curse word. Carp were not released but given a swift deathblow so as not to irritate any future fisherman.

Now, things have changed. Carp have long been a prime sport fish in Europe and the Far East. They originally came to the U.S. as a food fish. A friend in Baldwinsville shared how the Seneca River carp population began. A fish farmer’s river cages of carp broke in a storm, and the escapees multiplied exponentially. Locals have converted from carp hatred to carp commercialism.

The Baldwinsville tournament was held May 13-17, and competitors came from France, England, Canada and 12 different U.S. states. Winners Scott Townson of Texas and Tim Creque of Ohio landed 172 carp totaling 2,839 lbs., which netted them $6,600 in cash prizes plus other benefits. Total tonnage for the tournament was over 36,000 lbs. This is not personally surprising. I recall my younger brother, Jim, with heels dug in, battling a huge Seneca River carp for several minutes before the fish broke off the line, insuring Jim wouldn’t be dragged into the water.

The carp’s dignity has skyrocketed since our youthful days. The fish hasn’t changed; the fishermen have. It’s all a matter of valuation.

Spiritually, human ethnic groups and races haven’t changed, but a more even Biblical valuation has boosted some from being viewed indifferently to being seen as prized missionary targets. Years ago, some groups were devalued because of skin color, culture, obscurity or just being different. But Christian evangelism should never be discriminatory. The Apostle Paul preached to the Athenians, "And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us" (Acts 17:26-28).

It is consistent with Christ’s Great Commission given to formerly ethnically haughty Jewish converts, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15-16).

Fishing for men by sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ demands a non-discriminatory policy of believing that Christ died for all men everywhere despite perceived national, racial or cultural obstacles. If former carp non-lovers can lift their angling sights beyond their prejudices, then all believers everywhere can embrace the basic truth that "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

Dave Virkler