Eleven Lessons From the Lord the Rings

 

I have always loved the Lord of the Rings (books not the movies) since I first read them. I was probably seven and when I got to the end, I was sad -- not just because of the final parting, but also because a whopping good tale was over.

Tolkien's stories probably seem a little dated these days. They move a little slowly. He didn't like to kill off his main characters. His descriptions of places are fairly long and odd poems and made up languages dot the text.

Maybe it is because of these things that I have loved the books so much, but I have also found that there is a wisdom and a Christian ethic that fills these books that a lot of modern fiction is missing. Other books may be more intense and drama filled, but they don't speak to me in the same way.

I have cobbled together ten quotes and what they say to me.

Life is not about battles.

"Victory cannot be achieved by arms..." --Gandalf

I think many people read the Lord of the Rings for the first time expecting to find pages rippling with magic spells and scintillating battles. While there are some of both of those things, they are a small portion of the books.

Our world and even Christians have lost track of what will bring victory. It is not achieved by battle, but rather by small people doing the little they can.

God is guiding each situation.

"I can put it no plainer than by saying that Bilbo was meant to find the Ring and not by its maker. In which case you (Frodo) were meant to have it." -- Gandalf

Tolkien made it clear throughout the story that there bigger hands guiding the story. Sauron and Gandalf and others are doing what they can to push events in one direction or the other, but Someone greater is making sure that at the right time a tiny hobbit finds a magic Ring.

That to me, is a very encouraging thought.

Kindness shields us from much evil.

"Pity? It was pity that stayed his hands. Pity and Mercy: not to strike without need. And he has been well rewarded, Frodo. Be sure that he took so little hurt from the evil, and escaped in the end because he began his ownership of the Ring so. With Pity." --Gandalf

Gandalf was responding to Frodo's upset statement that it was a pity that Bilbo didn't stab Gollum when he had the chance. Gollum had betrayed them and was dangerous to the quest. Gandalf's answer left no doubt of his opinion of the subject.

Kindness, even to someone who doesn't deserve it, yields blessing in the end.

Those who focus too much on the darkness brave two perils -- despair and desire.

"It is perilous to study too deeply the arts of the Enemy, for good or for ill." -- Elrond

"Didst thou think that the eyes of the White Tower were blind? Nay I have seen more than thou knowest, Grey Fool... For a little space you may triumph on the field, for a day. But against the Power that now arises there is no victory." --Denethor

The Lord of the Rings makes it clear that there are two dangers. Saruman, a very wise man and wizard, was corrupted through his study of Sauron's arts. He desired the same sort of power and prestige that he thought that path offered.

On the other hand, Denethor, Steward of Gondor, was driven to his own destruction by the sights he saw of the enemies of his land. Truly it is dangerous to meditate too long on the darkness.

It feels very appropriate to contemplate this thought for a long moment. It feels as though the righteous, in these times, have been driven in one of two directions. Either they are using the Enemy's weapons against him or, they simply despair -- the evil is just too great to be overcome.

These things ought not so to be.

Even the most evil men are not evil in the beginning.

"For nothing is evil in the beginning. Even Sauron was not so." --Elrond

The message is clear. It is not that there is good in everyone that will rise up, like Anakin Skywalker from the ruins of Darth Vader.

Rather, those who are evil have fallen because of the choices that they made. Those who are good are  on the right path because of decisions that they have taken. Integrity comes because someone chooses every day to follow the right path, not because he or she is inherently righteous.

Good things are worthwhile, even if we don’t understand them.

“He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom.” --Gandalf

Gandalf was responding to Saruman who has just told him he is no longer Saruman the White, but Saruman of Many Colors. Gandalf responded simply “I liked white better.”

Perhaps there is a need in us to understand the inner workings of everything. It is more important to identify wholesome, good, and pure things and cling to those, even when we don’t understand them completely.

It is the smallest deeds and lives that make the difference in this world.

“Yet such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere.” --Elrond

Human nature is to focus on great feats of athleticism and courage and to think that the course of human events is altered by these things. The adage of Mother Teresa rings true, we can not all do great things, but we can all do small things with great love.

The Ends Do Not Justify the Means

'But fear no more! I would not take this thing, if it lay by the highway. Not were Minas Tirith falling in ruin and I alone could save her, so, using the weapon of the Dark Lord for her good and my glory. No, I do not wish for such triumphs, Frodo son of Drogo.' -- Faramir

Faramir, brother to Boromir is a wonderfully noble character.  His relationship with his father, Denethor, is filled with tragedy, as Denethor clearly valued Boromir above his younger brother.

Frodo is attempting to find a way into Mordor when Faramir captures him and Samwise.  In this chance encounter, Faramir has the opportunity to take the ring from Frodo and bring it back to his city, assuring the men of Gondor of certain victory.

When facing the same decision, Boromir fell to temptation, but Faramir chooses against the temptation.  He cannot use the enemy's weapons against him, even if it is only the way to assure his country of victory.

Those who use evil weapons end up corrupt in the end -- even if they have only good motives.

We are only setting the table for another generation.

“Yet, it is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succor of the years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule.” --Gandalf

There are tasks for each day, decisions that we make that will affect the course of the lives of our children and our children’s children. This is not a new concept, nor is it terribly deep and yet, our human tendency is to focus on ourselves and our pleasures rather than on those who will come after.

Regardless of our intentions, future generations will reap the seed we sow today.

Heroes are those who keep on despite the darkness.

“That’s not the way of it with tales that really mattered or the ones that stay in the mind. Folk seem to have been just landed in them, usually – their paths were laid that way as you put it. But I expect that they had lots of chances, like us, of turning back only they didn’t.” --Sam

I suppose we read stories incorrectly. We read them knowing that the hero overcomes, that good wins, and that Sauron is destroyed (minor spoiler), but the characters in the midst of the story don’t know that. They only know that the challenges set before them seem overwhelming.

Each one of us is in a story today and we don’t know the ending. It is our challenge to persevere despite the darkness.

Heroes give for others even though they may not personally enjoy the results of their labors.

“I tried to save the Shire, and it has been saved, but not for me. It must often be so, Sam, when things are in danger: someone has to give them up, lose them, so others may keep them.” –Frodo

This is for me, the saddest point in the story. Frodo returned to the Shire but was so deeply wounded that he could never find healing. He doesn’t hold that against the hobbits who don’t understand.  He is only glad that something good has been saved.

So it is for us. We must make the effort, endure the darkness, and continue on, not because we get some benefit, reward, or medal at the end. Rather something good has been accomplished. Something valuable has been saved.

Everyone has a reason for playing a part in this story.

Even Gollum.

Thanksgiving in 2020

 

"What are you thankful for, Victoria?"  I asked my six year old daughter.  It seems to be the time of year for thinking about gratitude and I wondered what she would say.

"I am thankful for chickens," she told me.  "And I am thankful for the eggs that they lay."

Victoria has really enjoyed us having chickens and goes to check on them and check for eggs at least two times every day.    Who knew how much a few Rhode Island Red chickens would mean to a family?

Maybe this year doesn't seem like a good year to think too much about Thanksgiving.  We have gotten through this year, but it certainly doesn't seem like one filled with a lot fun and excitement.  I Thessalonians 5:18 says, "In everything give thanks..." and while that may seem appropriate for pastors, maybe it feels like something that regular, every-day sort of people can't quite put into practice.

I think there is a special blessing though if we can look for reasons to be grateful.  So I decided to try to make a little list.

I am thankful for a house that doesn't stay clean.  

It means that I have five energetic children who have the desire and the ability to read books and play with all sorts of things.  It means I have a one year old who believes that her divinely appointed purpose is to empty every drawer within reach onto the floor.  The fact that my children need some encouragement to put things away after the fact says they are normal children.  For that I am grateful.

I am thankful that we continue to have church services.  

Our church has been curtailed a lot.  We are spaced out and only meeting once or twice a week.  Things are different than they were before March of this year.  But we are still meeting.  We do still fellowship.  The Spirit of God continues to move in His people.  The fact that services are not exactly like they were will only make me value it more when we do "go back to normal."

I am thankful that there are lots of opinions on Facebook.

There have been times that I thought that it would be wonderful to live in a world where everyone believed like John Waldron, but it is the differences between us that make this world an interesting place.  

I am grateful that I get hungry -- multiple times per day.  

It would be nice if I didn't feel it necessary to eat quite so often.  I have seen enough patients who have lost their appetite to know that this is a big deal.  I enjoy my meals as much as anybody and eating Thanksgiving Dinner would not be nearly as enjoyable without a little seasoning of hunger.

I am glad that I go home tired at the end of each work day.  

My weariness tells me that my patients trust me enough to come and see me.  As hard as some days are, I would rather do what I do than anything else.  It is a blessing not only to have a job, but to have one where you can make a (positive) difference in the lives of others.

I am thankful for COVID.  

This is perhaps the hardest thing of all to be thankful for.  This tiny respiratory virus has changed everything this year -- mostly for the worse.  It has let me know what and who is important in my life.  It has made me realize how important my relationship with God is.  It has led me to pray for lots of people that I don't even know.

There are lots of other things I could mention.  There have been hard events and times of blessings, but most of all, I am thankful that my Heavenly Father has held my hand through each day.  It is with the knowledge of how good God is that I can thank Him in every situation.

The difference between a thankless heart and one full of gratitude is a belief that everything that happens to me is for my good and planned by One who is only good.

I am not Pollyanna, gushing constantly about how wonderful everything is in my life.  I get discouraged, but even when I am down I know that God is the source of every good thing in my life -- especially the chickens.

Praying for Astronauts

 "And we go to Final Countdown!"  A woman's voice crackled with tension.  "10 -- 9 -- 8--..."

My children and I were watching the launch of the Space X Falcon 9 Space Capsule that was to link up with the International Space Station.  If those doing the telecast were nervous, I also felt tense.

"And we have lift off!"  A blinding light emitted from the base of the rocket and slowly the rocket began to leave the launch pad.  Then rapidly it soared, becoming a glowing light headed for the dark recesses of Space.

As I watched the rocket rise through the atmosphere, I began to pray for the astronauts.  "Lord, keep them safe.  Protect them..."  

Perhaps in this scientific age it seems unneeded, but I remember another space flight when I was eleven years old.  It was the flight of the Challenger where the seven crew members aboard "Slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God."

The Challenger disaster was the first time that I had thought of the Space Program as anything but routine.  Up to that point, I did not understand the dangers involved in space flight.  That day in January of 1986 was the beginning of my realization that science cannot solve all problems.

As I've gotten older, I realize this more than ever.  I am sure that there are still many among us who still have an undying confidence in science, but I realize that there is something -- Someone -- more.

And so, as I watched the Falcon 9 rise, I prayed for these astronauts I didn't know at all.  They had families who wanted to see them again.  Science had done what it could, but I wanted God's hand of protection over their flight.

I think about this now in terms of COVID-19.  There are men and women who every day gear up to take care of very ill people in clinics and ERs and ICUs.  They are doing the best they can.  They are using all the tools that science has given them to care for themselves and for others.

They are stressed to the maximum.  Perhaps those of us still on the ground watching them throw caution to the winds can do a bit more.  Perhaps we can give them encouragement in some little way.  Maybe we can pray for them, that God would give them strength and courage.  That He would calm their minds and give them peace in a way that Science cannot do.

We need to draw our prayer circle just a little wider...

These days, Science sits on the throne, but  even its most ardent devotees have an uncomfortable feeling that it is but a usurper.  It give no peace or joy to its followers.  Its control is at best tenuous as we await the Return of the King.

Joy and Politics

 

The United States Presidential Election of 2020 is past.

Sort of.

Votes are still being tallied and lawsuits filed.  Emotions are running hotter than ever.

For some reason, a stanza from the poem "An Irishman foresees His Death" by William Butler Yeats keeps coming to my mind.

    "My country is Kiltartan Cross

        My countrymen Kiltartan's poor.

    No likely end could bring them loss

        or leave them happier than before."

The poem is a dark look at World War I from an Irish perspective.  This, unnamed pilot, believes that he will give his life in battle and nothing would change for his people.  

Perhaps this is a nihlistic way of looking at the world.  It doesn't matter what we do, bad things will happen and there is nothing we can do to prevent it.  

I reject that view.  Rather to me, this poem speaks of the peril of faith in the wrong things.  More importantly, it tells me that it is dangerous to get our joy from shallow sources.

At the end of the vote counting, roughly half of the people will be happy and half will be angry and disappointed.  I am cynical enough to believe that in 18 month's time, most will be more than a little frustrated.  As powerful as the President is, he is very ineffective at bringing joy to the people.

Nehemiah 8:10 says, "Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."

Joy is something we need in hard times.  It is different from happiness in that it is less obvious, but it is also not founded on circumstances.

Our Heavenly Father is faithful and strong enough to provide peace and joy to us in every situation.  His people would do well to show that they have tapped into this unlimited source.

God's people need to have less faith in politicians.

His servants need to have more faith in Him.

Most of all, the Children of God must never let politicians steal their joy.