You’ve heard people say that love is a battlefield. That you win some and you lose some and something’s got to give and someone’s got to win. That’s all well and good, fine and dandy, whatever. You optimists out there will say “Naw, love isn’t a battlefield. Love is peace. If everyone had love in their heart then we would all coexist and bla bla bla”
I’d like to not so respectfully disagree with you optimists. And this is why.
1. Everyone has a different set of values that they believe is the best. Everyone has a vision of Utopia in their head and the ONLY way of achieving it is war.
That’s my only point I wanted to make.
So what’s my Utopia? Heaven. Every knee bowing and every knee confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord. One day it’s going to happen. And on that day there will be peace whether you want it or not.
What’s your Utopia? I don’t know, but unless you are a Christian Hedonist like myself, it’s going to be different then mine. Right there we have the first battle. The amount of damage depends on how desperate you are for your outcome.
For my banned books class I had to read 1984 by George Orwell(Or rather I chose to read it). I found this book highly intellectual and it got me thinking about this whole idea of thought. Quite a crazy concept right there, thinking about thinking. Or rather thinking about other people thinking and why they think what they think and how what they think and why translates into their actions.
There are some people out there who believe that all Republicans are racist. You can analyze thought for a billion years and you will never find a definitive answer as to why they think that. Values, thoughts, beliefs are complicated. Which is exactly why we hold them so dear. The real heroes, the real life changers, the real history makers act and speak and live their lives with conviction. They live their life ready for an ideological attack. As the presidential election draws near every single potential president is preparing and preparing to answer question after question. But not just a question, an attack. And if ever they can’t defend themselves against an attack it’s game over.
In the same way I walk the halls of my high school just waiting for an attack. Mentally preparing myself for the moment when someone attacks what I believe. And I’m not preparing in vain. It happens. Every day. Sitting in class and all it takes is the simple statement of “I’m an atheist” to get the engine of war turning in my mind.
But without conviction my mental labor is a waste. Conviction is the firepower. Conviction is the ammunition. Conviction is the nuclear bomb. Desperation is the foot soldier.
Now I know what you’re thinking…. “Crazy christian is taking everything too seriously(I wish you could hear the voice in my head saying this)” But really? Every person, every place, every thing is trying to shove their utopia down the throats of unsuspecting bystanders. From “Buy this product” To “Nebraskans for Peace” to “Go Big Red” to “Happy Holidays” to “It’s fine weather this morning” everyone is trying to convince you of something. Maybe it’s as simple as “It’s fine weather this morning–your life will be better with me in it” or “Go Big Red–UNL is the place you should go to college” or “Happy Holidays–Acknowledging the existence of a religious celebration is highly offensive and has no place in society” or maybe “Nebraskans for Peace– Since you don’t buy into liberal propaganda like I do, you’re a lesser being who wants to kill ALL the people!”
Everyone has a message. Everyone has something burning on their heart that they really want to say–More importantly they really want someone to hear–Even more importantly they want someone to believe like they do. The teenaged girl walks down the hall showing things she never wanted to show because she thinks she’s worth love and attention and she will do anything it takes for someone else to believe that too. Teachers, Media, Parents, they color the facts with bias so that one day you will believe as they do.
If you look at the social taboos in America today you get a laundry list.
1. Racists
2. Murderers
3. Religious people
4. Homophobes
5. Sexists
6. People who have a lot of kids
7. Rich people
8. People who are born on the wrong side of the tracks
9. Soldiers
10. Conservatives
11. Liberals
12. Dictators
13. People who commit genocide
14. The list goes on….
How do all these taboos come about? Someone said it’s not okay to be one of those people that I listed above. If you asked someone why they think it isn’t okay to let someone like Adolf Hitler rule the world, their answer would be “Because he killed a lot of people”. Well, smart one, why is killing people bad? “Well… because it’s a person!”
Yeah? So. Who cares.
Who puts the value in human life?
Was it you? What about the humans before you? Did their life have value? Was it only when you showed up on the scene that human life all of a sudden became so important?
See, these thoughts are incredibly powerful, but unless they are backed by conviction, backed by concise value, and backed by knowledge, none of them can hold any water. Unless one can say decisively “This is why I believe what I believe” They automatically lose the war. They get overtaken by the enemy. And the saddest part is when the enemy doesn’t even know why they believe what they believe.
I believe that there is value in human life because God created us in the image of Him. I don’t want to piss off the powerful God by slashing his masterpiece. I believe that anyone who is outside of Christ’s redemptive work is going to spend eternity in anguish, and I would never wish that on anyone. Why? Because God made me that way. Why? Who am I to know the mind of God. He made me who I am and that is who I am.
That’s what it all boils down to. Values, morals…. it’s all an innate god-breathed gift. Granted we all have sin nature and that’s where you get greedy selfish people. But their lives have no lasting purpose. Those are the people who’s words are drowned out.
Drowned out by the desperate.
Throughout the bible, throughout history, throughout time and space(haha whovian) the people who stand out are the ones who were desperate for their cause. Many went to their graves for the cause. Any person who has ever been assasinated can tell you that they were desperate for some end. So desperate that they put their life on the line for it. The ultimate sacrifice. These people had their voices heard.
I want to be next.
I have something to say.