And Now For Something Different

I am angry. Really angry.

As a small handful of you who occasionally read this know, I have been dealing with some medical issues. No big deal; everyone has shit to deal with. But my frustration level is really quite high (because VA medicine is kind of a pain in the ass) and so I have turned to the internet to get some coping strategies.

But therein lies the problem.

As of yesterday, I finally have enough information to actually get some concrete coping strategies, since as of yesterday, I have a tentative diagnosis to go on (which I pretty much already knew, but it was nice to hear a doctor actually say the words). And therein lies the problem: I am not unique and my diagnosis – tentative though it is – is becoming fairly common, especially since the beginning of the situation which our servicemen and women are currently engaged in in Iraq and Afghanistan. The problem is that, because I am not a veteran of this particular war – because I have not set boots on the ground in Iraq or Afghanistan since September 11, 2001, none of the myriad superior resources that are available to the brave young men and women who have been involved in this particular war are available to me.

Understand that I respect these young men and women immensely. I salute them. And I mourn the losses and sympathize with the sacrifices that many of them have made that if you have not served, you can not understand.

Still, I AM A FUCKING VETERAN, GOD DAMMT!!! How is it that my service is diminished? How is it that my sacrifice means nothing? How is it that I am not entitled to access to the same standard of care that these brave people are receiving when the same people – the US taxpayers – are paying for that care? Why do I not have access to identical resources when those resources are provided by the same institution – the Veteran’s Administration – paid for by the same people – the taxpayers – and designed to treat the EXACT SAME PROBLEM?!?!?

What is the disconnect? I’m a decorated Army veteran. I have the same diagnosis as many of the people who have access to these treatment options and these resources…but because my service dates do not cover October 2002 through the present, I am “less than” and thus, entitled to substandard care? Hell, some of the veterans who, by virtue of their dates of service do not even have the diagnosis that I do, yet they receive these benefits just by virtue of having served during these years – something which I would have been doing if the Army hadn’t decided that I was too broken to fix and sent me on my way with an honorable discharge and a severance package.

Life is not fair, nor do I expect it to be. But the military has a bad habit of priding itself on not making distinctions between male and female (you are a soldier), when you served, or what you’ve done in the past…so why in the hell are they doing it with my healthcare and the resources that are available to me? And why in the holy hell is it that almost every outside enterprise that “supports soldiers” is doing the same fucking thing? You either support servicemen and women/veterans or you don’t – but you don’t fucking pick and choose which ones you support based on what years they happened to wear that uniform and protect your right to be a bunch of fucking idiots.

Pearls…or Swine?

I’ve a friend who is particularly negative. I don’t mean Eeyore negative, which is cute for about thirty seconds. I mean makes me wonder if God facepalms as much as I do whenever this person starts to speak.

And so I got to wondering: how do we manage to talk about how cool God is out one side of our mouths and be so freakin’ negative, complaining, and dramatic out the other? Now I’m not talking about when the feces has really hit the ventilator and everything is completely haywire in life – that does happen from time to time and pretty much the only human ever to live and never complain was Jesus. But everyone else, from Abraham to Paul and beyond, bitched at least once. David, that “man after God’s own heart,” recorded some of his gripes. We call them the Psalms. But generally, David was a happy bloke and not prone to complain about his lot in life. Figure the guy was around a hundred-ish (estimating because I didn’t bother looking it up) when he died, so if you average it out using the Psalms, he complained about once a year or so.

Not so with us, is it? Guys like David and Abraham would be literally astounded at the myriad blessings even the very poorest among us has today and we bitch because…uh…we can?

The Haitian people (who are not cursed and who have never made a pact with the devil – to anyone who believes otherwise, I hope that you will also consider the words of a man much wiser than the idiot spreading such bull: “Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”) have suffered terrible devastation and we are complaining about God’s not having provided for us. Never mind the fact that we are not starving, we have a roof over our head, we’re not nekkid – we want more.

Don’t get me wrong, I am just as guilty as anyone else in some respects. See, when things go wrong, it becomes very easy to see the wrong – the bad – and forget about all the good, all the blessings we have. In my own life right now, there is much that I can (and sometimes do) complain about. There are many things that are “going wrong” and cause for concern for me, and to be perfectly honest, some of those things are perfectly valid reasons to be really pissed off at God – especially when things seem to pile on one thing after another. You know how it goes: get through one mini-crisis in life and another pops right up.

Well, first off…how many of those mini-crises are self-inflicted? That is to say, how many of those situations arise because we didn’t listen to the warnings God gave us in our hearts? Had we listened in the first place, we probably could have avoided many of the bad situations to begin with. Since we didn’t listen, we now have to rely on God to help us through them and mitigate the damage…which He always does, but we don’t want to see that until ten years down the road, when we find out how bad it could have been and go “whoa…man, God really saved my skin there!”

Secondly…how easily do we forget all the things that God has done for us? There’s a Scripture somewhere that says “put Me in remembrance…” This is not because God’s memory is faulty, like He has some kind of deity dementia and needs to be told about the time when I was twelve and should have died but miraculously didn’t. This is because I need to be reminded of the time when I was twelve and should have died but didn’t. Or the time I was 16 and should have died but didn’t. Or when I was 21 and should have died but didn’t. Or the time two and a half years ago when I should have died but didn’t (and here I thought only cats had 9 lives…). And in my life, those are just the major ones. …Or did you think God really needed to be reminded for a few thousand years about the time He parted a freakin’ sea and an entire nation walked right on through the middle of it with a wall of water on either side of them? You know, because I’m sure that if I was God, it would totally have slipped my mind! “Moses? Moses who? Oh! That guy with the rocks and the shiny face on the mountaintop! Riiight!”

I had a friend once who always used to quote Phillippians 4 to me: “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”

Some days, I admit, it is really, really hard to think about things that are noble and lovely – especially when it seems like everything in your life is just a madhouse and everything’s going more and more apeshit every day. When Murphy’s Law (One day, I am going to find that bloody Irishman and beat the crap out of him) is in full swing, finding anything praiseworthy can feel like a full time job. I know it does for me right now. But what’s even harder – and what makes it even harder – is being around people whose negativity drags you so far down into their pit that you can’t even summon the energy to look for a anything noble, lovely, or praiseworthy to think about. Putting a cheerful tone to your complaints isn’t being positive; it’s being happy about wallowing in your muck. Last I looked, swine were designed to wallow in mud and muck…humans were not.

So I guess the big question is this: are we going to look for pearls, or hang out in the muck with the swine?

More thoughts inspired by Mr. Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series, this time from the 6th book in the series, Faith of the Fallen (it’s worth noting that, while I believe it’s far better and easier to understand the books if you read the whole series, each book is written in such a way as to be easily understood as a standalone novel and I am of the opinion that, as an American, if you read no other work of fiction this year, you should consider reading Faith of the Fallen).

On finishing this book, I considered the overall message as I lay down to sleep. When I awoke, Proverbs 29:18 was the very first thing that came to mind:

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Vision here means “divine revelation.” Law means “custom, what is taught” and refers to either the manner and customs of men or to the Torah. The same Hebrew word, towrah, is used by David in a prayer of thanksgiving and worship after Nathan proclaims the word of God to him that the house and throne of David will forever be established in the sight of God – and in that prayer, David uses the word to refer to the manner and customs of man. When we refer to the Law, the Torah, Divine Law, under the New Covenant, we do not refer to the Ten Commandments written on two stone tablets, nor do we refer to endless regulations governing everything from what we wear to what we eat to when we pray. We refer simply to what Jesus commanded: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself – because in keeping these two simple commands, we cannot possibly break the endless list of the others.

But I wondered why I woke up with that verse on my tongue and my mind yesterday after reading that book. And then, suddenly, I saw the verse in a new and different light that simultaneously made no sense and perfect sense.

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

When we become slaves to our brothers, to their needs, their wants, their desires and do not consider our own because to consider our needs and wants and desires is somehow “sinful,” we lose vision. Show me an oppressed people who have lived multiple decades under the lash of their oppressors who have vision; whose eyes are not dull and lifeless. Where there is no vision, the people perish. This perishing does not need to be physical. The breaking of a man’s spirit, of his will, is far effective than physical death.

There is a vision, a “divine” revelation that is inherent in every man from the day he is born. It is that vision, that hope, that “divine” revelation, that is an intrinsic part of the nature of every human being born on this earth since the dawn of time. That vision is called freedom. It is why we chafe under our parents as young people, it is why we rebel against society as young adults, it is why we are unhappy with our bosses or companies as adults. We see their rules, regulations, restrictions in the same way that a horse sees the bit we put in its mouth to control it.

I do not say all this to advocate irresponsibility. I believe strongly that each should carry his own weight. But what I see currently offends me deeply on a level that I’m not sure I can even adequately express. We have spent decades breaking the spirit and will of man to the point where vision has decreased and the people are perishing. No one keeps the law – the custom of man, which is the inherent, intrinsic need of every man to be free – and so, no one is happy. We have taught, and are teaching, our children that happiness comes not from being free to choose to help those less fortunate, but from forcing anyone with a penny to give that penny to tyrannical people who will decide who is worthy to receive it. We are teaching our people that happiness comes not from a job well done and the effort put into a hard day’s work, but from the knowledge that hard work and effort is unfair because it prevents others from sharing equally in the rewards of that work, regardless of whether or not they took part in the work to receive the rewards. We are teaching that all are equally incapable, equally unworthy, and thus, have equal right to benefit. We are teaching that there is no value in effort, in work, in personal pride or self-respect, but that the work of all must benefit all if we are to succeed and become great. We are teaching that only small minds, limited intellect and refusal to think or feel for ourselves is the path to the future. We are teaching our people to fail spectacularly.

We are teaching humanity to die.

Jesus taught us to live.

“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil…that you may live and multiply…But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away…I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land…I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live…”

I have been reading a brilliant series by Terry Goodkind called The Sword of Truth and I found myself wondering something. Wrestling, really…until I discovered that it was something with which I have been wrestling for several years without really knowing it. I feel it is a question worth pondering because it is a question Jesus answered for us by His own actions as well.

The books deal with some weighty themes and with characters who, through their flaws, are readily identifiable and easy to relate to. I find it interesting how the main characters’ gifts balance one another so perfectly. The hero’s main gift is perfectly balanced by the heroine’s main gift. Where the hero’s main gift is pure anger, bordering on a blinding rage of hate, the heroine’s gift is pure love – interestingly, the exercise of these magical gifts causes no end of grief, heartache and struggle for these characters in their application.

Along the way, however, the hero learns that there is a “flip side” to his gift: that through the magic he was born with, he is capable of turning his gift, his rage, to something altogether different. His gift is driven by intent: if he perceives something as evil, unjust, dangerous, then and only then does his magic work to eliminate the threat – his gift will not allow him to take the life of an innocent. If, however, he is able to use his magic to change his perception and to offer forgiveness and mercy, then his magic will allow him to use it to end an innocent life.

At any rate, this got me to wondering: were I in the hero’s place, would I have even discovered this “flip side”?

We talk about forgiveness. We talk about mercy. We talk about love. And we do so at great length.

But…do we actually practice any of these things?

In the scene where the book’s hero stood with his sword at the breast of the person who had tortured him mercilessly in order to break him in every way possible, would I, had I been in his position, been able to do as the hero did? To, without malice, without anger towards my tormentor, look on them with compassion and even love and say, “I forgive you, please forgive me for this” and perform an act of mercy rather than an act of vengeance (understanding, in this context, that not performing the act of mercy would condemn this person to a fate a thousand times worse than anything they had ever done to me)?

The realities of life, of humanity, harden us. This is as it should be – as it must be. If we refused to allow ourselves to be hardened by the realities of the harshness of the world, we would never be able to protect ourselves or anyone else from that reality, that harshness. We would never be able to do what needs to be done when it needs to be done.

There is a difference between vengeance and mercy, between fury and forgiveness. Though sometimes the act of letting go may make the difference indistinguishable on the surface, it is the content of the pages – not the cover of the book – that determine the writer’s intent.

Sometimes, it is better to trust your heart over your head.

Letter From God

A friend showed me this last night and I thought the overall message was phenomenal:

“Give Me Your Burdens and I Will…” Add to Them?”

“The only time Jesus ever got mad was when he went to church.”

This is something a friend of mine said to me recently. This friend and I both know the New Testament reasonably well, so we debated the merits of the statement. It’s true: the only time in any Biblical account that shows Jesus actually (and deliberately) losing His temper was when He went to the Temple, saw the people – His people – getting fleeced, went out, braided a whip, returned, and demolished the place.

So now I don’t feel too terrible about my own aversion to Church (and most of the people therein). My pal Fishermage has an interesting blog up here on Lamentations. It discusses the unrealistic burden that many in the church put on people – burdens that God does not put on people. Listen, God’s not going to send you to hell if you don’t give the Church ten percent of your income. He’s not going to send you to hell if you smoke or drink. He’s not going to send you to hell if you’d rather watch Star Wars or play World of Warcraft than go to church every time the doors are open. You know, he’s not even going to send you to hell if you have murdered a dozen people (crazy little clause in the Bible about only one sin being unforgivable in God’s eyes and not even the brutal rape of a teenager, heinous act, mass murder, or horrible murder of a small child is that sin).

As human beings, we are terribly judgmental. We suppose that we have the right to force people to adopt our values – whatever those values may be (a quick scan of a recent post on this blog on Atheism is a perfect example of humanity – including myself at some points – at our judgmental worst). But God (and by God, I include Jesus), who alone has the right to act as our Judge, does not do so. Instead, He looks for every reason, every excuse not to pronounce judgment on us, to the point that He declares that there is nothing (except for blaspheming the Holy Spirit – and if you don’t know what that means, then you are probably quite innocent of it) that we can possibly do that would be unforgivable in His eyes.

So, while the church is telling you that you’re going to hell for…um…being human, just remember that God is telling you quite the opposite. God is telling you that there is not a single “righteous” person on the earth, that we were created the way we are and that He knows we’re going to screw up – and He’s perfectly okay with that. What He’s not okay with is us putting unrealistic expectations or burdens that no man can possibly carry on one another – that kinda pisses Him off a little.

The Man of Peace?

The name of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner is interesting. It means (in order) “blessed, handsome, crooked.”

He’s been called a man of peace before, but the awarding of a prize which has previously been awarded to such historic notables as Nelson Mandela (1993), The Dalai Lama (1989), Elie Wiesel (1986), Mother Theresa (1979), Martin Luther King Jr. (1964) and Anwar al-Saddat and Menachim Begin (1978) to a man who has, quite literally, done little to engender peace is a bit astonishing to me.

President Obama has worked very hard to cultivate an image of being a man of peace without actually doing anything to bring that image to reality. In point of fact, the President is, as was pointed out to me yesterday, baala al-salaam (spelling may be incorrect because prior to yesterday, I had never heard the term): without peace.

I’ll not put on a tinfoil hat here and speculate regarding eschatology. Instead, I will point out fact.

The President has not yet fulfilled his promises to end two wars in which this country – rightly or wrongly – is engaged.

The President has done little (unless empty words count) to prevent madmen from gaining access to nuclear weaponry. He has further done absolutely nothing (again, unless empty words count) to prevent a potential attack on either United States soil or the soil of our Pacific Rim allies by a madman who is known to have access to nuclear weapons technology.

The President has done little, if anything, to put a stop to abuses of both power and human rights and dignity in Africa – though he alone, due to his heritage and the tribal nature of many African nations, is uniquely suited to do so.

The President has done little, if anything, to put a stop to piracy in the African peninsula: though, again, he alone among all world leaders, is uniquely suited to do so.

The President has extended the hand of United States friendship to men like Mr. Chavez of Venezuela…yet denied that hand of friendship to some of our staunchest allies, choosing instead to scold Israel as a parent would an errant child. The President would do well to remember that Israel has, in the past, been one of our strongest allies: throwing a trusted ally under the bus for political gain is always a mistake…and one that nearly always comes back to bite the people of the United States in the ass later.

The President made a promise during his campaign to close Guantanamo bay. This has not been done, and “Gitmo” remains a black stain on our nation and those who serve her because of the actions of a few dishonorable men and women who are not soldiers (and who never were soldiers, judging by their actions), but were still permitted to wear this nation’s uniform…and who, by so doing, tarnished the sacrifices of the many lives lost in service to this country.

Let’s not even begin to discuss the lack of peace engendered by President Obama’s domestic policy. Suffice to say that a man (or men) calling the President on blatant falsehoods is treated almost as a crime. Our President – a Constitutional scholar and, one must assume by his Constitutional interests, an historical scholar – demands an apology from a man who, really, has not only done nothing wrong, but whose ‘outburst’ is completely in line with the rich history of our nation. Our President, the Constitutional scholar, denied a citizen of this nation his Constitutional right to freedom of speech (and, apparently, freedom of opinion as well).

President Obama, the blessed, handsome, crooked man of peace? Baala al-salaam.

When You are Free…

This past weekend, I attended a church service in another state.  What I saw at that service made me remember why it was that I stopped attending regular corporate worship services.  It also both made me angry and made me feel some compassion/pity for those locked into going to a service every time the church doors are open.

For twenty minutes before they took the offering, some random individual rambled on and on about boats.  I have no idea really what boats have to do with the offering, but the man’s rambling amused me because it made me think of this song. I found this entertaining and started looking around to see who had their “flippy-floppies,” so it wasn’t a total loss.

Once the offering had been taken – by placing buckets on the altar and everyone running up to the altar to drop their cash in, so that everybody could see something that, truly, is between the individual and God – another man got up and spent another twenty minutes praying over the offering and many other things that, frankly, made so little sense that I tuned the prayer out. There was nothing direct and to the point about the prayer and, to be honest, I have no earthly idea what, if anything, the person praying was asking God to do.

Then the pastor got up. This is a man whom I like and respect. Sadly, he wasn’t preaching that morning. He said a couple of really great things that I would have liked to have heard a lot more about…but I suppose it is something that I will learn another time.

Next, a wonderful classical musician gave a performance that was all too brief. What I was able to hear of her violin playing was breathtakingly beautiful. It is easy to see why this woman was recently nominated for a Dove award for best Instrumental Album of 2009. Unfortunately, the volume on the accompanying soundtrack was so loud that it drowned out most of her beautiful playing of one of my favorite songs ever. I would very much like, I think, to hear this lady play without all the distraction. She is very talented and obviously loves what she does. Still, not a total loss because what I was able to hear was remarkable.

Then the preacher got up… /facepalm. I’m a direct and to the point kind of a girl, and this guy took more than an hour to say what I could have said clearly in a couple of sentences: taking on false responsibility is a common habit that we, as Christians, need to break out of. When you are free, you can do what you want without condemnation.

Frankly, a brilliant sermon. The man stated that we are not responsible for the actions of others (well, duh!) and that when we choose to walk in freedom, we do not take on those false responsibilities of “well, if I don’t attend every service every time the doors are open, the most horrible things imaginable will happen.”

…and the entire building was silent and had a look of blank ignorance on their faces, as if this man were speaking a foreign language.

This man said something that is, quite possibly, the most profound thing I have ever heard come out of a preacher’s mouth: When you are free, you can do what you want and nobody in the room understood what he was saying! By all appearances, the statement sailed over the heads of most of the people in the room without so much as a second thought. How disappointing. How sad that Christians, as a rule, are so chained by appearances, man-made rules, and false responsibility that a room full of them couldn’t grasp the enormity of that simple little statement: When you are free, you can do what you want.

There is great freedom in Christ…so why are so many “little Christs” missing it?

Today, try walking in freedom. Do what you want, even if it’s only one thing for one minute. Let me know how it feels…and I dare you to tell me that after even the tiniest taste of that freedom, you can go back to a cage.

Atheism

*note: due to the amount of hateful invective being spewed by many people, I have disabled comments. The Germans have a wonderful saying that, loosely translated, means: “If what you see offends you, don’t look!” There are many people on the internet who could – and probably should – apply that piece of European wisdom to their lives.

Eavesdropping on History 1

Below is a slightly modified version of a post I made on my old blog in May of ‘08.  I think it bears repeating, since it’s a kind of a continuation of the unintended theme I have going here at the moment. ;P

A little over a year ago, I read a blog post about eavesdropping. In a nutshell, the writer reminded me that when we read Paul’s writings, we are reading letters that were not written to us; they were written to other people in another period in history – a period that in no way resembles our own.

Still, we apply the teachings in Paul’s letters to other people quite literally to our own lives, don’t we? Personally, not being a first-century type of a girl, I see nothing wrong with makeup or with the plaiting (that’s braiding for those who may not be aware) of hair. My hair being halfway down my back, you can pretty well bet I braid it on occasion – especially when it’s hot outside (which it pretty much always is here in Texas). I’ve even been known to wear a short (as in about two inches above the knee) skirt on occasion because I’m told I have nice legs. I’m pretty positive I am not going to hell for wearing makeup, braiding my hair, or wearing a short skirt every once in a while, even if Paul said (in the first frakkin’ century!) that women shouldn’t do that.

So why do we go about and act (or listen to those who would tell us) that Paul’s letters are clearly written directly to us?! That is, in my opinion, positively idiotic, particularly when we open any Bible and read, at the beginning of each letter, exactly who Paul was addressing! Not only that, we have approximate dates for when each letter was written! I don’t know about any of you, but I was definitely not alive in AD 54…unless I’m like some weird, freaky science-fiction thing that somehow got transported 2,000 years into Earth’s future. That’d be kinda cool (especially if I had, like, a lightsaber or something!), but I rate the likelihood of that being the story of my life right up there with people opening ice cream stands in Hell.

So, why do I say all this? Because I believe that a teacher bears a greater responsibility to ensure that what they are teaching is absolutely correct – and it literally drives me absolutely bonkers when a teacher teaches something that is so wrong that I can barely contain myself when I hear it.  Ephesians chapter 6 is a good example of this.

Pretty much anyone who has ever heard this passage taught has heard the (what I believe to be) B.S. teaching: the Roman shoes, with their spikes, so you can stomp all over the enemy. The Roman breastplate, so highly polished that it blinds the enemy, the Roman shield, which covered from neck to thigh (actually, that was the Greeks…some Romans did carry that large shield, but most carried the smaller round variety)…excuse me while I go put on my hip waders and get an industrial-sized can of air freshener to clear the smell of fecal matter from the room.

It makes a great sermon, because it charges people up, gets ‘em rarin’ to go, makes ‘em feel good, yee-haw. And that’s what church is for, right? Firing people up, making ‘em excited about God, woot! Sorry, I think I may have just puked in my mouth a little bit right there – I’m afraid that I believe that living a life in relationship with God is more important than sitting in a pew and asking someone else to get me excited about God.

But let me ask you this…Where in all of Ephesians does Paul start talking about Romans? Especially look in the context of 6:10. Maybe I’m reading the wrong translation, so I’ll go get my Greek one. Nope, not there, either. What is Paul talking about throughout nearly the entire letter, though? Relationship. How we are to treat one another. Servanthood. Hmmm….that’s interesting.

Another interesting little factoid is that one of the largest gladiatorial arenas in the Roman Empire in the mid-first century was located in Ephesus.  The History Channel produced an amazingly good documentary on this about five years ago for their “Rome Week” event.  Well, that knowledge does kind of change one’s outlook and point of view on this passage a bit now, doesn’t it? By AD 54 the games were incredibly popular – Ephesus’ arena was one of the largest and was frequently used – and the people there would have been very familiar with how gladiators went into battle.

This brings up another point: what Roman soldier, what soldier at any point in the history of humankind, has ever had to be told to put on every piece of armor at their disposal? Speaking as a retired soldier, I can tell you: none. Not one. Going anywhere near a battlefield, whether for practice or for real, without all your armor, pretty much guarantees disciplinary action. Ask the soldier headed for Iraq who forgot to pack his Kevlar. Ask the soldier in my basic training unit who lost her bayonet. Ask me: I left my gear in the back of my secured military vehicle overnight in a secured motorpool once and paid dearly for it. Gladiators, on the other hand, contrary to Ridley Scott’s incredibly compelling film, considered it more honorable and more of a test of their skill and abilities as combatants (one-on-one, not mass battle re-enactments) to enter the arena with as little armor as possible.

Another point concerning Roman soldiers and gladiators: Roman soldiers either were Roman citizens or were completing a tour of duty (usually 20 years) that would allow them to become Roman citizens. They were not servants; they gave orders. Gladiators, on the other hand, were not only servants, they were slaves, trained to fight. The most skilled or brave of them, or those the Emperor chose to honor could earn their freedom by fighting for it in such a manner that impressed the Emperor. Otherwise, slaves they remained (well-treated and well-trained slaves – gladiators standard of living was well above what one would expect for a slave because their masters needed them to be in top physical condition to win fights so that they could bring in a hefty income for their masters.  Gladiators, again in contrast to Mr. Scott’s film, rarely, if ever, wanted for anything).  There were many cases of men who would willingly give up their status, their freedom, and all that they had in order to become gladiators. They would take on the status of a slave for the hope of future glory.

So, why the history lesson?

Well, first of all, when we read Ephesians in its entirely, we see that Paul is addressing specific issues in how people should relate to one another and behave towards one another. We can surmise (though we can never know) that the Ephesians wrote to him asking about certain, specific problems in the way relationships were going on, and that he was responding to each point that they raised. Then we get to Ephesians 6:10:

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. (NKJV)

Finally, be constantly strengthened in the Lord and in the active efficacy of the might that is inherent in Him.  Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God to the end that you will be able to hold your ground against the stratagems of the devil, because our wrestling is not against blood and flesh, but against the principalities, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against spirit forces of perniciousness in the heavenly places.  On this account, take to yourself, at once and once for all, the complete armor of God in order that you may be able to resist in the day, the pernicious day, and having achieved all things, to stand.  Stand therefore, having girded your loins in the sphere of truth, and having clothed yourself with the breastplate of righteousness, and having sandalled your feet with a firm foundation of the good news of peace; in addition to all these, taking to yourselves the shield of faith by means of which you will be able to quench all the fiery arrows of the pernicious one, and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God; through the instrumentality of every prayer and supplication for need, praying at every season by means of the Spirit, and maintaining a constant alertness in the same with every kind of unremitting care and supplication for all the saints, and on behalf of me, in order that there might be given me utterance in the opening of my mouth, in every fearless, confident freedom of speaking, to make known the mystery of the good news on behalf of which I am an ambassador in a chain, in orderthat in it I may speak with every fearless and confident freedom as it is necessary in the nature of the case for me to speak. (Wuest)

Now, many translations and many teachers will say that this word “finally” means “for the rest.” Indeed – with that I can agree. But I have heard it taught (in error, I strongly believe), that this word “finally” means “for the rest of you.” Huh? So it doesn’t apply to everyone else, only the people who aren’t parents or children or masters or slaves or otherwise addressed in some part of your letter? Well, that seems pretty stupid, doesn’t it?

Going back to what I spoke of in the beginning of this blog – that we are eavesdropping on a 2,000 year old letter that is in response to what those in Ephesus had written to Paul and asked him about (and we will never see that letter), I believe this could more accurately be translated “Regarding the rest of what you wrote to me about…”

I believe Paul was encouraging all the Ephesians to stand strong in things like strife, temptations, trials, because his very next statement is to tell the Ephesians that, unlike in the gladiatorial arena, we do not struggle against flesh and blood for our freedom, we “wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

I have studied and meditated this passage for more than 5 years now, and now more than ever, I am convinced that this passage refers not to behaving like Roman soldiers – strongarming and pushing our will on others, relying on the authority of “our position” to get things accomplished – but like gladiators…willingly taking on the status and position of servanthood, putting on the whole armor of God – not just the parts we feel like putting on – as we fight against those powers, principalities, rulers of darkness in this present age and spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places for our future glory.