Sometimes in life it feels like it doesn’t matter what you do because evil is going to win. The problem with that thinking is that it’s a lie and Satan and his evil servants want you to believe it so that the lie becomes enlarged and the truth shrinks in your eyes. Satan wants you to believe that evil is stronger than you are so you will give in and surrender.
The other day my daughter said her eldest daughter, my granddaughter, asked if I had all the Star War movies because she wanted to watch them all together starting with the first one. She knows I am a movie collector, with about 3,000 movies of all types, though mostly action and Sci-fi. Unfortunately, I only have a few of them from the Star Wars series, but this question started a quest to revisit all the Start Wars movies.
With the Star Wars “trilogy”, I think there are like eleven movies and they revolve around this insignificant group of individuals who are fighting against an evil empire that is overwhelming and brutal. The odds are totally against this small band of rebels. My wife and I were talking the other day about the first Star Wars we went to see back in 1977.
Life seems to prove time and again that there are bullies that dominate others and use force to do so. In my grammar school, there was this one bully who used to terrorize all of us by beating kids up and taking their lunch money every day. No one could stop him so it seemed the best thing to do was give him what he wanted and stay out of his way.
You see, he had a strategy that convinced all the kids to submit to him. He built up a reputation that so intimidated kids that no one would challenge him and his bullying. He would pick on the smaller guys or the ones who were filled with fear and then pick a fight over stupid things just to prove he was the toughest. He was a decent fighter but he used intimidation as his main weapon to defeat his opponent even before the fight began. After he blooded a kid’s face he not only won that battle but most of the future battles though his reputation. Not until we all graduated to high school was he stopped. A kid that didn’t know him was challenged in a school fight and a thousand kids showed up to watch it one Friday afternoon. This kid, which seemed just an average guy, was a boy who was taking boxing lessons at a local YMCA. His spirit was calm and confident, which the bully wasn’t prepared for. In the end, the bully lost badly and was so shamed in his lost that he never came back to our school.
In the Star Wars movie, the bully, which is known as the Empire, seems to be invincible. They have bigger and cooler weapons. They had been defeating everyone they fought and the so-called rebels were small and weak. In most people’s eyes they were insignificant and small. Yet, there were a few rebels who believed their cause was just and the empire’s was evil and unjust. The rebels became convinced that this bully in the universe needed to be stopped no matter the cost.
Movies in the past have gone through different phases of ideology when creating a story. When I was a kid the “Good Guy” always won. I remember John Wayne being the guy that won the day in every movie regardless of the theme. Western, war, romance…. the good guy won every time. Boy is this dating me! Then there was a shift to the good guys losing a lot. Then the movies started portraying the so-called good guys as both good and bad. I think Hollywood is leaning back to the good guy wins but we will have to wait and see. The film industry has said it wants to depict more of what real life really is but that depends on your world view. I think, for the most part, Hollywood is motivated by a humanistic perspective and surrenders to the evil propensities of humanity.
In real life, you and I face all kinds of evil. The evil could be in our own lives or the family we grew up in. It could be the neighborhood or city we were born into was dominated by brute force to control its people. The question is: will we surrender to the evil around us or confront it? Will we challenge evil even though it’s big and seems to have bloodied the faces of others? To answer this question we need to look at a few things that will determine if we at least have a fighting chance.
First, consider that evil first and foremost is the corruption of what’s good. When someone lies they are corrupting truth and demanding we embrace the lie as a substitute. If that battle is won then it all spirals down hill from there. Back to Star Wars for a moment, the lie is these evil bullies wanted people to submit because they would bring “Order” to the universe. At the core, that was a lie. Order in our lives doesn’t have to be forced unless we surrender to the evil lie that we can’t do good without force.
Satan’s plan for mankind was to get us to believe his lies and then surrender to his will. He promises us order and happiness but at what cost? The cost is hidden and only the benefits are presented. Often the lie looks so good that the truth seems wrong. The lie tastes good but brings bitterness to our soul. You can see why so many just surrender to the cultural current and just try to survive.
The real question is: should we go with the flow in life and just see what happens or determine what is right and good and put up a fight for it?
The bully, Satan, wants our surrender. He wants us to believe we can’t win the fight even before it starts. Why get our face bloodied for nothing? God, on the other hand, knows that if we take a stand against evil we can win if we trust him and don’t give into our fear and human perspective.
The truth is God made us to have the ability to stand against evil no matter how big and strong the evil becomes. It does require that we elevate courage and challenge our fear to really make a difference for God’s kingdom. Sacrifice for sacrifice is not my idea of a good thing. However, sacrifice for real change is worth the cost.
The apostle Paul told his spiritual son Timothy to fight the “Good Fight” of faith. It’s a fight we all need to be challenged to take on so evil does not win the day and we lose our own souls.
1 Timothy 1:18-20
This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, [19] keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. [20] Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme.
To me a fight isn’t good unless there is potential to make a difference. Paul believed the truth that God is good and that Satan was bad. He believed that God was and is bigger than Satan even though Satan has convinced much of humanity to surrender their will to him. He believed being on God’s side and living for him would make the fight a good one because God will cause us to become more than conquerors.
Romans 8:37
But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
I want to continue this topic of “Does It Matter What You Think” to explore The true reality of our lives and challenge the false one to gain the freedom God’s word describes. We can win against evil is we believe God’s word. The stakes are high in this conflict.
Questions:
1) Do you feel at times like your effort doesn’t matter? It does, however, you also need the Lord in order to wage the good fight!
2) Do you feel like you are eating the lie rather than the truth? It may sound easier but, in the long run, it is not. Put you trust in God, not yourself.
Pastor Dale
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