The world, at times, seems hopeless. More recently than naught. Its full of dark thoughts, evil plans, and entitled people. The weight of heaviness sometimes seems like it will overcome any light of goodness that manages to shine into its darkness. There always seems to be that one moment when we as individuals sit down and give in to the fight against the darkness. Weary and beat down, the fight seems futile and fruitless to continue. But the moment passes and struggling we hopefully rise and strive to persevere against the evil in this world.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” ~Edmund Burke
That statement rings as true today as it did the day it was first said. Some of my favorite movies are filled with examples of righteous anger and the desire for justice. Movies like The Patriot, The Last Samurai, Gladiator, and Tombstone. Men who lived and maybe died for their freedom and in the name of what was good and right. Everyday is a battle and every person is a soldier on their own battlefield. If we aren’t ready and equipped with the knowledge we need to survive…. we won’t. Sometimes it takes a hard lesson to teach us the things we need to know. But if we don’t learn the lesson the first time, then it will be repeated until we listen and understand.
“Charlotte: You have done nothing for which you should be ashamed.
Benjamin Martin: I have done nothing. And for that I am ashamed.”
~The Patriot
Do your part in your own war. I came so close to giving up recently and leaving my faith for a life I thought would be easier. But it wasn’t easier. I think about those movies that I love watching and I know that if I am not convicted within myself to be the best person I can be, then I have let down the people I look up too. There is no reason that I shouldn’t face my demons with the courage of Benjamin Martin in The Patriot, the willingness to learn and love like Nathan Algren, and the perseverance of Maximus.
A spirit of fear is not what God has given me or anyone who believes in him. He gives us the tools to triumph over evil if we put use them…. and Live.
beautifulstrongtree 