Passing the torch
Wednesday December 29, 2004
Dragons and demons
For this reflective season of good will, between Christmas and New Year’s, a story and a quotation.
First, the story… Once upon a time, in the general manner of these old tales, there was a handsome young prince. He heard of a fair maiden waiting to be rescued by a handsome prince. But between him and her lay a deep, dark forest populated with evil demons and fierce fire-breathing dragons hostile to handsome princes.
But the handsome prince was confident. So he fought his way through the forest. Sometimes, he had to resort to trickery, to deceit. He slaughtered, he slew, he swindled, he murdered. But after years of constant battle with the forces of evil, he emerged on the far side into gorgeous gardens.
And there stood the tower, from which he would free the beautiful princess.
He looked at himself, still dripping with the blood of the last dragon, and decided to clean up a little before ringing the princess’s doorbell. So he stopped at a pool to wash and shave.
In the water, he saw his own reflection.
The years of battling evil with its own weapons had taken its toll. The face that looked back at him was lined with anger, with hate, with venom. He had won, but at what price? He was now no better than those he had slain in what he thought was a noble cause.
He was no longer a handsome young prince.
So he slunk back into the forest.
The moral of the story
I don’t know where that story came from, but I find myself returning over and over to the profound truth within it. Because I believe that there is purpose and meaning in this universe, that we are not just accidental assemblies of energy fields. And purpose and meaning must have a goal, an intention.
Out of my cultural background, I think of that goal as the Kingdom of God—a setting of peace, goodwill, and harmony.
But many factors—and many people—get in the way of peace, goodwill, and harmony. And I’m tempted to battle them, to destroy them, using any means available to me.
The story reminds me that won’t work. The end never justifies the means.
The quotation showed up on a page I almost used to light the fireplace on Christmas day. Just before I crumpled it up, I saw these lines. They come from Jim Grant, former Executive Director of UNICEF:
“This is the true joy in life, being used for a purpose… I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and, as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have gotten hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”
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Copyright © 2002 by Jim Taylor. Non-profit use in congregations and study groups permitted; all other rights reserved.
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