Someone has said that behind every successful man there are three women, a loving wife, a proud mother, and a surprised mother-in-law. No doubt everyone can look back on the past and remember someone who has been an inspiration and an encouragement. There are some unfortunate individuals who have come from broken homes, from an unloving relationship, or who have been abandoned with no parental guidance, and their lives have been a failure, and they end up victims and derelicts. However, some hardy ones have surmounted such conditions, and have achieved greatness.
Behind every soldier are thousands of support personnel we call them, "unsung heroes," and we call the coordination of this huge conglomeration of services and support personnel, logistics. When it is done right, the military machinery operates smoothly and efficiently, but sometimes things go SNAFU. One example of this is in the Battle of the Bulge; the German army was mainly defeated because their tanks ran out of gas. Supply did not meet demand.
An aircraft carrier is an example of a self contained war machine, and it must function efficiently while isolated from any external support. To do so requires the smooth functioning of every member of the crew, each one of which has a specific duty. For instance, planes are kept in the air by the constant maintenance and repair performed by mechanics working deep in the bowels of the ship below the flight deck. Those who toil below the deck are just as vital to the mission as the pilots in the planes on and above the deck.
The Bible tells the story of how the Amalekites attacked the city of Ziklag, looted and burned the city, and took all the women into captivity, including David's two wives. David and six hundred of his men took out after the raiders. For three days they pursued, not stopping to eat nor drink. Finally, they came to the Brook Besor, and two hundred men were so exhausted that they could go no farther. After eating some bread and getting a drink, David and four hundred men continued the chase. When they caught up, the ensuing battle lasted from twilight until the next evening, and all the Amalekites were killed except four hundred that escaped on camels. All the spoils were recovered, including David's two wives. Some of the returning troops complained that because the two hundred had not been in the battle, they should not receive any of the spoils. But David said, not so, those who stayed with the supplies would share equally with those who went to battle (1 Sam. 30:24). And so it is today, those brave volunteers who go to the mission field to battle heathenism, idolatry and Spiritism must share their victories with those who stay by the supplies, those who labor, so to speak, "below the deck."
