Fight The Good Fight
“There is some good in this world, and it’s worth fighting for.” ~ J.R.R. Tolkien
From the time I was old enough to remember what my parents would say to me, I remember the words, “Don’t fight”. I heard those words quite often. Perhaps it was because I grew up in a family of four boys. Perhaps, furthermore, the two youngest (me and my brother) were only a year and a half apart. The sibling rivalry between the two of us was incredible.
Don’t fight. Don’t fight. Don’t fight. That really got ingrained into me after several “interventions” from my parents. It made sense. Why fight. The only thing that appeared to come out of it was bruises and hurt feelings.
Fighting, in and of itself, is not a good thing. However, fighting for something that has worth is another matter entirely. There are many injustices that deserve, nay, demand, that we fight for them. The poor, the disadvantaged, the chronically ill, the elderly, and the unborn come to my mind immediately. There are many other situations that must be addressed and, if necessary, fought for.
I know that there is a qualitative difference between the fighting of two brothers and the fighting that takes place for the sake of other people. However, the intensity of the emotions can often be the same. When we see people being harmed by others, our hackles rise and we can feel the injustice burning in our blood. Those are times that we need to stand up for others.
Some people cannot take care of themselves. Some people cannot stand up for themselves. Some people have been so beaten or oppressed that they even may have given up. Let us remember that taking up a battle cry may still be a noble thing.
FAITH ACTION: Pray for those who are involved in struggles for peace and justice.