Nothing Left To Lose

Many thanks go out to the friends of mine who keep me reminded via "semi-daily" to "weekly" devotionals that I am merely a traveler on a path to eternity. The stepping stone, or should I say scandalon was "nothing is more dangerous than a man with nothing left to lose." I have had many diverse thoughts about this one factoid, so much so that I thought some of you may find it wonder-filled too. This devotional I was sent described a movie where the villain goes after the main characters wife and children. You've seen the movies, usually starring men like Bruce Willis or you. Or at least the "you" you hope would be under such circumstances such as the villain has your family tied to a nuclear warhead in a well-guarded subterranean bunker underneath the city of New York. Of course the police don't believe the story you have shared in trying to enlist their help, say for one cop with great instinct but no friends within the force. And together, you and he, unlikely allies, negotiate the treacherous lair set up for your demise by your well-funded, and tool-enabled foes. It's a likely story resulting in millions in opening day ticket sales and an exhausting, sweat-soaked, dream festered sleep. I want you to consider the man who has had everything taken from him in Jobian fashion and one who has had maybe 1 child taken while the kidnappers insist that whatever action he takes against them will result in his other children or wife being taken or killed. Leverage. They have him considering now what he has to lose by taking a particular action. He must make smaller, safer choices. Nothing visible. Nothing with the mind-set that "If this fails..."

The first guy has lost everything. The thought of "what if I fail..." never enters his mind. As the Bon Jovi song rings "I'm goin' down in a blaze of glory," he relentlessly pummels his adversary in a firefight. He wins because his opponent usually has something to lose, or if not, it's because our hero has only 1 significant goal in mind. There can be only 1 solution. The end of the enemy and his entrapment's and the safe recovery of his family.

I think often about the early settlers in North America. There were no jobs in the filthy, over-populated and violent cities on the eastern seaboard. They took their possessions (usually merely what they had on their backs, some small necessities, a knife, a gun, their wife and kids) and headed bravely into unchartered and should we say, barely charted territory. They faced unpredictable odds, famine, blight, sickness, hunger, blizzards, drought, wild animals, Indians, bears, snakes, accidents, and disease. They didn't have MapQuest or Google; no HMO's or health insurance cards; no spare tires or AAA; no Holiday Inn's or mini-mart gas stations; no Walmarts or McDonalds; no GameBoy or DVD players. They had themselves, their own wisdom and knowledge, God and His word; a gun and their physical strength; prayer and nature. That's it. A very small list. Why did they survive? How was it possible? Like our hero, there was little outside of their tented-wagon that would hold them back or cause them to second guess themselves.

Have we Americans become so burdened with our own "stuff" that we can't move forward any more? Has our focus become so diluted that we cannot muster the effort required to bring down an enemy who threatens us, our family. our country and our faith? We think we make bold steps when we speak against poverty? But what have you actually accomplished? Did you devise a way to defeat it? How about rancid, liberal, anti-God lessons from the classroom? How about the pornographic tentacles that are reaching through your television, radio, or computer and trying to drag your husbands, wives and children into a life of enslavement and addiction? How about the racist groups that spew hatred and entice your sons with a phony power? How about the media telling your daughters that the sexuality that is uniquely theirs can be used for pleasure and power? How about the lies that one-more trip to the spa or one more visit to St. Lucia and you will be eternally at peace? How about the lie that a one-night fling or a simple peak will not affect me or my family negatively? How about, how about, how about? Fill it in.

What real battles have you fought lately? Have your children seen you fight for anything of eternal value? Do they go to bed at night saying "my dad, my hero"? Is the world a better place because you're here and because of what you've done? Do people see purpose and power in your presence? It's time for all of us to consider what is weighing us down and keeping us from depending upon God. You see, we depend on technology, not our ability to think. We rely on mechanisms and not our feet, hands, eyes, and ears. We would rather buy something then learn how to build it. We would rather have welfare take care of us than to develop a new skill-set and take care of our selves. We would rather ask a doctor to fix it than to eat well and exercise. Maybe we need to lose everything before we see it clearly. I hope not. I choose to become effective, purposed and "dangerous" to things coming against me and my family. I hope my life would someday make a great movie. Not just exciting to watch, but exciting to live out personally.

If you've seen "Gladiator" then you've seen evil helplessly defeated by "a man with nothing left to lose." If Americans, men and women alike, would choose to be dangerous to the things that are destroying our society and families, this country could never be brought to ruin until by God himself.