As I was writing my blog about the apostle Paul the other day, I was reminded of something my brother Jon said several years ago that stuck with me for some reason:
"Never get in a fight with someone who's got nothing to lose."
We've all been there... Some rusted out clunker cuts you off in traffic. You give the other driver a scowl and lay on your horn a bit longer than usual and then immediately resume driving with no intention of giving the irritating encounter a second thought. That is, until you see the same maniac in your periphery waiving gang signs and a gun out the window, his blood-red face now fully engulfed in third degree road rage.
This kind of person always has way more options than you.
1). He's already got a record, so if he squeezes off a few rounds and goes to jail for it, again... so what?
2). His car is on its last leg, yours is nice and shiny... perhaps he'll choose to sideswipe you.
3). He doesn't have a job, so maybe he'll get in front of you and slam on his brakes, putting him up in the hospital for a few weeks and guaranteeing a nice fat settlement check from your insurance company thanks to Jim Adler, the tough smart lawyer.
Never get in a fight with someone who's got nothing to lose?
Very wise advice.
This got me to thinking about other parallels – Paul in particular. In Philippians, Paul is writing from prison when he says:
"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body" (Philippians 1:20-24 )
Paul is a mad man! He says here that it would actually be nice to die! Not in a suicidal "woe is me" kind of way. Rather, he is actually torn between which is the best course of action, to die now and be with Christ or to live and continue preaching the Gospel?
Why was Paul seemingly unstoppable? Why was his life so exciting? Because this is a man who realized, as long as he had Christ, he had absolutely nothing to lose. It didn't matter if he was beaten, stoned, imprisoned, shipwrecked, whatever... he looked at things in a completely different way. Profit and personal gain became loss. Heartache and trials were seen as lasting profit.
Two chapters later he says, "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ..." (Philippians 3:7,8)
God, help us to be people who understand that, if we have gained Christ – loss, pain and struggle are made bearable in this light of this perspective. Wean us off the empires we have built and the goods we gathered around us in extravagant piles. Pull us close to Your side, the giver and sustainer of life.
"Never get in a fight with someone who's got nothing to lose."
We've all been there... Some rusted out clunker cuts you off in traffic. You give the other driver a scowl and lay on your horn a bit longer than usual and then immediately resume driving with no intention of giving the irritating encounter a second thought. That is, until you see the same maniac in your periphery waiving gang signs and a gun out the window, his blood-red face now fully engulfed in third degree road rage.
This kind of person always has way more options than you.
1). He's already got a record, so if he squeezes off a few rounds and goes to jail for it, again... so what?
2). His car is on its last leg, yours is nice and shiny... perhaps he'll choose to sideswipe you.
3). He doesn't have a job, so maybe he'll get in front of you and slam on his brakes, putting him up in the hospital for a few weeks and guaranteeing a nice fat settlement check from your insurance company thanks to Jim Adler, the tough smart lawyer.
Never get in a fight with someone who's got nothing to lose?
Very wise advice.
This got me to thinking about other parallels – Paul in particular. In Philippians, Paul is writing from prison when he says:
"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body" (Philippians 1:20-24 )
Paul is a mad man! He says here that it would actually be nice to die! Not in a suicidal "woe is me" kind of way. Rather, he is actually torn between which is the best course of action, to die now and be with Christ or to live and continue preaching the Gospel?
Why was Paul seemingly unstoppable? Why was his life so exciting? Because this is a man who realized, as long as he had Christ, he had absolutely nothing to lose. It didn't matter if he was beaten, stoned, imprisoned, shipwrecked, whatever... he looked at things in a completely different way. Profit and personal gain became loss. Heartache and trials were seen as lasting profit.
Two chapters later he says, "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ..." (Philippians 3:7,8)
God, help us to be people who understand that, if we have gained Christ – loss, pain and struggle are made bearable in this light of this perspective. Wean us off the empires we have built and the goods we gathered around us in extravagant piles. Pull us close to Your side, the giver and sustainer of life.
No comments:
Post a Comment