Fight the Good Fight — PRINCESS SERVANT WARRIOR

“But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses”

— 1 Timothy 6:11-12

Most of us have dreamed that we could experience a fairy tale as the beautiful princess who courageously overcomes her struggles and lives happily ever after in a castle with our Prince Charming. Unfortunately, “happily ever after” omits the changes and trials that normal life inevitably brings. In spite of this fact, happy endings are one of the things we crave the most about fairy tales. We enjoy pretending happiness based on our circumstances will last for a lifetime, although we know from experience it can’t. Believing that we should be comfortable in this life is a sugar-coated trap like the gingerbread house in Hansel and Gretel, and we tell ourselves that we could be satisfied if only God didn’t allow injustice and suffering.

The difficult truth is, evil will always be a part of this life because this sinful world is temporary and full of flawed and finite humans (Romans 3:23). While it’s part of a Christian’s duty to stand up for what’s right, our kingdom is not of this world and our victory is not in this life (John 18:36). Jesus told us that if we are His followers, we will undergo persecution as He did (Matthew 10:22).

So if we can’t be happy until we’re dead, what’s the point of living? How do we keep going if there’s nothing for us here? If sinners will hate us and refuse to listen, why bother teaching them? And if we can’t beat evil in this life, what’s the point of fighting it?

Doubts like this pop up in the back of our minds, especially during hard times, and they can lead to spiritual discouragement and weakness if we let them take root. These questions assume that if your efforts to achieve your dreams fail or you’re unhappy and suffering, then you’re being cheated out of what life is supposed to be. There’s an attitude of entitlement and a focus on pleasure implied in the attitudes behind these questions.

Let’s think about the issue in the context of relationships between humans. Would it be helpful toward producing a resilient, productive adult for a parent to protect their child from every little bump, scrape, disappointment, or struggle? Does an employer owe it to an employee to make sure they’re never inconvenienced, uncomfortable, or unhappy in their work? Although they wouldn’t seek it out, even human experts and authorities recognize that pain can help build the character necessary to accomplish great things and is simply part of life. Christians have fallen under the influence of prosperity doctrine that says we should be happy, healthy, and wealthy because God loves us, but God is no benevolent genie who aimlessly grants all our wishes. Such a tame view of our King strips Him of the wisdom, justice, power, and authority that make Him trustworthy in the first place. Considering that we live in a spiritual war zone, we’re blessed to have a King with the authority, strength, and wisdom to expect sacrifice and suffering from His soldiers and the love, justice, and power to give infinitely greater self-sacrifice in return for His people.

Since we’re made in our Father’s image, we’re priceless to Him, but no human has the power to earn or accomplish anything by his own merit apart from our Lord to make Him indebted to us (Romans 11:34-36). In fact, the opposite is true. We need the sacrifice of Christ’s blood to cleanse us so our sins don’t separate us from God (Hebrews 9:14, 22). Our King and Creator does not owe us anything, including explanations. Whatever He asks of us, He was willing to endure equal or greater pain through the life of Jesus out of love for us (Hebrews 4:15). All our blessings, including the fact that we exist, result from His own power, love, and worthiness, not our own (Ephesians 2:8-10). On occasions when God did reveal His future plans to people like Moses, the limited scope of our human strength and knowledge left the people involved feeling overwhelmed (Exodus 3:4-20, 6:1-12). So maybe instead of questioning God as Job did (Job 40:2-8), we’d fare better at conquering our doubt and discouragement from examining ourselves (2 Corinthians 13:5). Let’s take the time to think about these questions.

Why and how are you fighting?

Do you seek controversy or quarreling, making life more of a struggle for yourself and others than necessary? While living out God’s commands and standing up for the truth can sometimes involve controversial subjects, the world’s pattern of habitually striking up conversations, in person or on social media, centered around how right and smart we are does not match the commands given to Christians. A humble, loving person is quicker to listen and care than to criticize and argue, even if the other person is wrong (Titus 3:2). Quarreling over opinions or worldly matters accomplishes nothing but alienating people who might have otherwise listened to the truth (Galatians 6:1, 2 Timothy 2:22-26). Instead of encouraging strife, are you striving only to serve God and save souls by teaching the truth in love (1 Timothy 6:4-5, 1 Thessalonians 2:4, Galatians 1:10, 1 Corinthians 10:31, 2 Timothy 2:22-26)?

What do you expect to get out of serving God?

Are you trying to make yourself happy in this life? If we live for pleasure, we’re spiritually dead even though our bodies are alive (1 Timothy 5:6). Human hearts and lives are so changeable and fleeting that chasing our own pleasure is a constant and ultimately pointless effort because it never lasts (Ecclesiastes 2:1). More importantly, our lives and our bodies are not our own once we’re followers of Christ. We serve our Lord and Father as His spiritual servants and children, so He has total authority over our being (2 Chronicles 20:6, Job 42:2, Isaiah 45:9, Romans 9:19-21, Romans 12:1-2, Galatians 2:20).

Are you trying to find acceptance with the people of the world and call yourself a Christian at the same time?

The only way to please worldly people is to live in bondage to the same sins they serve so that the light of the Lord doesn’t reveal their errors and make them uncomfortable (John 3:19-21). Jesus tells us it’s not worth gaining the world to lose your soul (Mark 8:36). Are you committed to pleasing God rather than humans (Proverbs 29:25, Acts 5:29, 1 Thessalonians 2:4)?

Have you come to terms with the reality that we receive our compensation in Heaven (2 Timothy 2:1-7, 1 Timothy 55:6, James 1:12, Matthew 5:2-12)?

Delayed gratification is difficult when it’s merely a worldly desire. But when we long for peace and freedom from suffering, we’re actually homesick for Heaven (2 Corinthians 5:1-10).

When we’re discouraged, we can remind each other we don’t fight the good fight alone and we don’t fight for anything perishable we can see or touch in this life. As long as we maintain our fellowship and unity by loving and encouraging one another, the diversity of people among the members of the church can serve to strengthen both the church as a whole and it’s individual members so that when one member is struggling, the others can lift him or her up (Romans 12:10, 1 Corinthians 12:12-26, Hebrews 10:24-25). More importantly, our Lord is always with His church and each one of us as He was with His children throughout the Bible. He tells us,

“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

— Isaiah 41:10

Our eternal Father is not limited by what is happening on this earth. God is powerful and faithful, so we can trust that He has already written our happy ending in Heaven as long as we don’t give up on loving and serving Him (Luke 12:4-9, 2 Corinthians 6:16-7:1, Numbers 23:19, Deuteronomy 31:6, 1 Corinthians 1:4-9, Ephesians 1, Galatians 6:9).