My fraternity at K-State had a tradition of freshman taking upperclassmen by force, into the showers on their birthday. These attacks were done at anytime during the day or evening of that birthday and most everyone involved ended up soaking wet in their clothes.

One October evening at supper, the freshmen started to rush towards an upperclassman that I happened to be sitting next to, in one corner of the dining hall. There were only four of us at this round table that could hold six people. As the freshmen got close to where we were, I grabbed the edge of the table and threw it up in the air towards the freshmen. Everything on the table went flying towards the oncoming freshmen, food, utensils, drinks, bowls of food and our plates with food on them went flying. As the breakable plates and bowls hit the floor they shattered. Water and tea from our glasses and the pitchers went everywhere. The birthday boy then ran out a door that was behind us and I followed him, because I knew I was going to be in trouble.

The leaders of the fraternity, the president and the vice-president and all those types were angry at me. The freshmen, who were assigned clean up duty of the dining hall, were angry at me. The adults, who were our advisors, when they heard about it, were not only angry at me; they wanted me to pay for the broken dishes and wanted me out of the fraternity house.

Jesus turned over some tables at the place of worship one day. He made the powers that be angry at him. So angry in fact, for ruining their business deals, that it was one of the things that led to his death on the cross.

In my situation, when the leaders came to me and told me what might happen to me, I told them the freshmen should not have done this at supper. I told them the upperclassmen always fight being thrown in the shower and the table most likely would have been turned over by them anyway. After they thought about it, at our next meeting we passed a rule where the freshmen could not attack any upperclassmen in the dining hall, and I received a stern warning.

Matthew 21: 12-13 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves. And said unto them, it is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but you have made it a den of thieves.

Sometimes we need to turn over the tables to start something new.