Fight the Good Fight

As we celebrate African-American History Month, we can recall the names of many great men and women who "fought the good fight" for freedom and civil rights-- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, the Little Rock Nine, and countless others.

But, the history we proudly celebrate today would have been vastly different if, instead of "fighting the good fight" these men and women chose to "fight the bad fight." 

What if Dr. King advocated "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" when it came to responding to physical and verbal assaults from racists?  What if Rosa Parks decided to cuss out the bus driver and hit him with one of her worn out shoes?  What if the Little Rock Nine decided to go "gangsta" in the school they were sent to segregate?

If any of these heroes had chosen to "fight the bad fight," their stories and legacies would have been extremely short-lived, and so would ours.  Thankfully, they made the right choices and decided to use the "fight" they had in them for the right reasons and in the right way.

Many of us have a lot of "fight" in us, but what are we doing with it?  Are we using it to bully and intimidate others so we can always appear to be right or just to get our way? Are we using it to fight for our "right" to remain in unhealthy or dangerous relationships?  Are we using it to fight against who and what God made us to be, choosing instead to be people pleasers? Are we fighting for our "right" to do whatever we want with and to our bodies, forgetting that we have been bought with a price? Are we fighting just for the sake of fighting because that's all we know how to do?

In 1 Timothy 6:12 we are told to "Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses."
This reminds us that, at various points throughout our Christian journey, we will be required to fight.  But the fight is not about the little skirmishes that many of us find ourselves so regularly and readily embroiled in.  It is a fight of faith, not foolishness. 

We have to fight to hold on to our faith in times of serious testing.  Yet, some of us are so distracted by all of the little side fights that come our way that we lose sight of the "eternal life to which [we] were called...." and instead fight each other as if our lives depended on the outcome of some earthly turf battle.  Then, when the time comes for us to stand up and fight major battles of faith, we are too weary from all the side battles and have little left for the real war.

We must never forget, that no matter how many people behave as "enemies" toward us, we really only have one enemy, and he is a defeated foe.  That's how we can find the strength to "pray for those who despitefully use us...." and like Jesus cry out, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do."

When we forget who and whose we are and get drawn into petty and irrelevant fights, we are ''fighting the bad fight" not "the good fight."  And, when we lose sight of the right fight, we are as bad as a football player who gets so turned around that he runs the football in the wrong direction and crosses into the end zone of the opposing team.

The next time you feel a fight coming on, slow down long enough to ask the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you into all truth about what's really going on.  If there is no evidence of the fruit of the Spirit leading up to or resulting from the encounter, step back and let God handle it.  Remember, God is the one who actually fights all of our battles anyway--"the battle is not yours, it's the Lord's."   All we have to do is "Fight the Good Fight" and the Lord God, who is mighty in battle, will take care of the rest.

BNcouraged!

Rev. Karen

P.S.  Special birthday greetings to my dear sisterfriend, Angela Johnson who, on this very day is turning the ripe old age of....Well, I better not say.  I don't want to start a fight! :-)