July 25
Barnes v Elias
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. ––Galatians 5:16-17
We are not enemies, but friends … The mystic chords of memory … will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.[1] —Abraham Lincoln, March 4, 1861
The powerful 1986 war film Platoon reveals what happens when the enemy penetrates the perimeter in a field of operation, and even manages to destroy the command center. As the Americans’ position is overrun by the enemy, chaos ensues; amidst the confusion, an NVA soldier manages to detonate a bomb inside the command tent. To make matters worse, throughout the film, we see the soldiers’ morale deteriorate as infighting intensifies between two rival officers: Barnes (who represents brute amoral force) and Elias (whose moral center fights to overcome the descending darkness).
The spiritual symbolism, of course, is clear, and comes to a head in the main protagonist, Chris Taylor, played by Charlie Sheen. At one point as the tension mounts within his divided platoon, he describes himself as a soldier “born of those two fathers”—brutal Barnes and compassionate Elias. I think we can all relate to that line. I know that I can get quickly carried away when I see someone do something wrong. That anger and desire to exact justice can be strong both in the everyday stuff (e.g., when someone cuts in line at the grocery store, or weaves dangerously through traffic) as well as the big stuff (corrupt leaders getting off scot-free, bloody dictators).
Remember, without Jesus we are all Barnes. Natural marauders abiding by a brutal “survival of the fittest” mentality. Paul puts this internal battle this way:
So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. ––Romans 7:21-23
Our Helper, the Holy Spirit, is the antidote to road rage, anger posting, and all of our darker impulses and addictions. Left to our own devices, thing get ugly real quick. How awesome and encouraging, then, that we have a Command Center that has already defeated the enemy and restored order through the death and resurrection of Jesus. While Satan can still lob bombs, when we abide in Christ we have a secure spiritual perimeter that cannot be breached.
Father, thank You that I do not have to give in to my darker side, but as a new creation in Christ, I have been crucified with Him, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ in me. Thank You!
[1] “’The Better Angels of Our Nature’: President Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address,” Andy Supperich, thehenryford.org