Fight for your life
February 2, 2020
There it was again. The pesky mouse Biggles couldn’t get rid of. For months now, he had purchased one mouse trap after another and every other contraption that promised to deliver results. None of them had worked, and now the mouse was comfortable enough to bring its cousins into his cozy home. After spending many sleepless nights listening to squeaks and scratching, Biggles was frustrated, cranky and tired. As much as he hated it, he decided to simply put up with it. Many months later, as he was cleaning out a closet, he saw a large hole in the wall, left open by a plumber he had hired a year earlier. There was the big open door through which the mice were coming into his home. He quickly sealed it and never saw them again.
Biggles’ struggle—whether to keep fighting or to just put up with our problems–is common. Because many of us are simply too tired to keep fighting, we sometimes choose the latter. Instead of continuing to resist negative debilitating thoughts, we sit passively and allow ourselves to live discouraged and tormented by fear, worry and anxiety. Instead of standing up for ourselves and setting healthy boundaries in our relationships, we put up with people controlling and manipulating us. Instead of learning to forgive, we put up with anger and bitterness. We fail to recognize that when we just “put up with it” we are being robbed of the life of strength, joy, peace and wholeness that Jesus offered (John 10:10).
The Bible presents Christians as being in a fierce battle that requires vigilance and constant engagement. God has provided spiritual tools and a strategy for victory, and he expects his children to use them (Eph. 6:13-18; 2 Cor. 10:4-15). Because unlike Biggles’ mouse, their enemy will not go away; he is crafty, determined and does not take a day off (1 Peter 5:8). If he appears gone, it’s only because he is waiting for another opportunity (Lk. 4:13).
If we ever hope to live the fulfilling and impactful lives God wants us to live, we must take a stand and learn to fight back. Passivity is not an option.