Happy Monday!
An exchange around a tweet prompts today’s word-of-the-week…
FIGHT
My tweet simply said “Life’s not a battle…unless you choose to fight.”
My friend Kristen raised a great counterpoint.
I choose to fight. I choose to fight against apathy. I choose to fight against injustice. I choose to fight against all of the lies that the enemy whispers. You fight too.
Hmmm. Tough to argue with that, huh?
But something still didn’t feel quite right. Kristen’s correct—I don’t want to simply accept apathy and injustice. At the same time, I’m weary of the verbal and physical violence that results when people fight for the principles in which they believe.
Kristen’s comment inspired me to wonder if we can avoid turning life into a battle while refusing to accept injustice and violence. I searched for examples.
Mother Teresa didn’t fight. Dr. King didn’t fight. Gandhi didn’t fight.
Jesus didn’t fight.
There’s a difference between fighting for something and standing for something.
Fighting, it seems to me, means doing what it takes to achieve the objective. Once you choose to fight, the only sensible goal is winning. Unless it’s a game, “fair fight” is an oxymoron because the other guy may have a different moral code.
Standing for a set of principles is different. Tactics are chosen based on principle. Success isn’t defined by numbers on the world’s scoreboard.
In 1970, Iowa State University closed its campus a week early in response to student deaths during anti-war protests at Kent State University. I still recall the words of physics professor Dr. George Bowen as he dismissed our class: Violence in the pursuit of peace is insanity.
As I consider the examples I listed—Mother Teresa, MLK, Gandhi, Jesus—I notice a pattern.
Long-term, they transformed the world. Short-term, there were some considerable costs involved.
Apparently, it’s possible to stand for something without fighting.
Might be good to count the cost before making a commitment.
Have a great week.
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