When is a horse not a gift?

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It is likely true that the stars shining the brightest in the pitch-black night are the ones that have consumed the most fuel. They possess the endurance to withstand extreme pressures and have survived the immense heat that allows them to be visible compared to other celestial bodies in the solar system. Leadership is a challenging endeavor, and those in such roles can draw strength from what astronomers understand about the universe. Leaders are akin to those burning balls of gas and heat; they emit a bright light amidst the darkness.

Consider the poetic lines from Faust composed by the great eighteenth-century German literary prodigy Johann Wolfgang von Goethe:

God. Although he serves me now confusedly,

I soon shall lead him forth where all is clear.

The gardener knows when verdant grows the tree

That bloom and fruit will deck the coming year.

Mephistopheles. What will you wager? Him you yet shall lose,

If you give me your permission

To lead him gently on the path I choose.

God. As long as on earth he shall survive,

So long you'll meet no prohibition.

Man errs as long as he doth survive.

Mephistopheles. My thanks for that, for with the dead I've never got

Myself entangled of my own volition.

I like full, fresh cheeks best of all the lot.

I'm not at home when corpses seek my house;

I feel about it as a cat does with a mouse.

God. It is well! So be it granted you today!

Divert this spirit from its primal source

And if you can lay hold on him, you may

Conduct him downward on your course,

And stand abashed when you are forced to say:

A good man, though his striving be obscure,

Remains aware that there is one right way. (Goethe, 1952, pp. 8-9)

 

The dialogue above parallels that of the poetic ancient Hebrew literature found in the Old Testament, specifically the story of Job and the challenge set upon Job by the duplicitous serpent who criticizes Job's devotion to God (The Holy Bible, New International Version, 1999, Job 1:7-12). The reality is, of course, that understanding the spiritual battle humans experience is a theological viewpoint that I hold as a follower of Jesus—the struggle between good and evil.

As such, as a leader, there is a real struggle or a tangible and perceptible adversary (Erickson, 2013, p. 417) to grapple with daily, who doubts our commitment as part of God's community as depicted in the interaction above from Goethe's epic poem. The dialogue between God and the character Mephistopheles concerns the main character of the story, Faust, the subject of Mephistopheles' criticism, God's servant. We are a lot like Faust in Goethe's grand literary classic; it is no wonder that it is considered unforgettable in the Britannica.

There is an adversary, a formidable enemy, and he is like the rikusentai, the Japanese Marines who crimsoned the sands red with the blood of the US Marines at Tarawa during World War II (Alexander et al., 1997). As a veteran Marine, not uneducated in military infantry training and accustomed to the ethos, philosophy, and traditions of the United States Marines, the importance of understanding conflict on foreign soil stands to reason. However, the true enemy of man, or the Mephistophelean adversary, goes by other names.

Recall other distinctions and character traits such as attractive enticer, incorrigible opponent, creator of lies, master of deception, who distorts and blurs the vision of those who do not yet believe (Erickson, 2013, p. 417). Suppose, as a military veteran and a professed Christian, it is believed that the spiritual battle is against flesh and blood? In that case, I am undone and defeated as I cannot expect to engage the tactics of the devil, such that as a former grunt in the service of our country, I will not be retrofitted with an M16, a bayonet, hand grenades, or a .50 caliber Browning machine gun atop a Hummer. However, at the very least, as a warrior disciple, I will need supernatural aid, and so, due to weak knees, I will need God's armor (Simpson & Bruce, 1957, p. 142). Sometimes our adversary attacks with a direct frontal assault. Still, often, he comes at us in disguise, appearing as an angel of light, or a gift, to deceive us with intelligent schemes of espionage.

The Trojans learned a valuable lesson when a gift of a horse was not an offering of peace or a surrender from the mighty Greeks. Recall Achilles, the mythological warrior of old, who Virgil tells us about alongside other Greek fighters in the story of how Troy fell. The Greeks overcame the inhabitants of Troy through deception. With the elusive acceptance of a sacrificial offering of maple and pine, in the shape of an idol, a wooden horse, secretly holding within its bowels men armed with shield and blade, overtook the city when the horse offered up by the Greeks was brought into the inner city (Virgil, 1952, pp. 124-127).

At times, we can clearly see our adversary, the devil, attacking us, while at other times, his assaults on our hearts and lives are more subtle. Regardless, as we learn from the wisdom of literary figures, he questions our commitment and challenges God, accusing us. But we take heart, the good news is that God is faithful. He believes in us, even championing us. When we struggle and sometimes face unclear paths, just as others in the great community of believers do, we have an advocate, Jesus.

References:

Alexander, J. H., Horan, D., & Stahl, N. (1997). A fellowship of valor: The battle history of the United States marines. HarperCollins.

Erickson, M. J. (2013). Christian theology (3rd ed.). Baker.

Goethe, J. W. (1952). Faust: Parts I & II. In R. M. Hutchins, The Great Books of the Western World (Vol. 47, pp. 1–249). Encyclopedia Britannica.

Simpson, E. K., & Bruce, F. F. (1957). Commentary on the epistles to the Ephesians and to the Colossians. William B. Eerdmans.

The Holy Bible: New International Version. (1999). Cornerstone Bible Publishers. (original work published 1973)

Virgil (1952). The Aeneid. In R. M. Hutchins, The Great Books of the Western World (Vol. 13, pp. 101-379). Encyclopedia Britannica.