"You either die the hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain."- Harvey Dent in the Dark Knight
This quote is much more than foreshadowing what is to come in the epic movie The Dark Knight. This quote has loads of truth in everyday society. Today, society idealizes you which can't be done unless your dead and you can't defend yourself; Or, you live so they can't idealize you and are able to see your flaws. The amazing thing society neglects to remember time and time again is that everyone has their flaws. Everybody has that moment where we "slip up."
I believe this is too simple of a definition for this quote. The definition of the word hero is, "a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for their brave deeds." When someone has distinguishing courage or ability, often times they have a strong passion for what they are standing up for or believing in. This is why I believe the real definition deals with a person's love and passion for something, which becomes an obsession, which leads us to lose focus on the true objective we are fighting for.
I see myself falling guilty to becoming the villain on a daily basis. When it comes to sharing my faith, I find myself wanting to show people Christ so badly, that I grow away from my own relationship with Him, in order to try and bring them to Christ. What started out as a love (loving Jesus), turns into an obsession (wanting others to love Jesus), which eventually leads me finding myself farther away from Christ, and caring more about what people think of me, than my relationship with Him. I find myself trying to be friends with everyone I come in contact with. In going through some scripture I was able to find two important verses that indicate how to handle situations like the ones I consistantly fall into.
"All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." -Matthew 10:29
"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first."- John 15:18
The world hated Jesus to the point of nailing Him to the cross. The world hated Him first. He warns us that the world will hate us because of Him. This has led me to formulate a new conclusion. If you trust God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and live your life accordingly to that love, you will be a hero in someone's life. God might not grant you the privilege of knowing the impact you have on someone's life, but I guarantee if you stand firm to the end, someone will take note, and apply your love to their own life. In this world, we all will die. We all have the potential to die a hero when our time comes.
Regardless of how hard we try, we will fail. To someone, we will always be a "villain" or a "hero." The great thing is there was a hero who already saved the day for anyone who loves Him. As we all strive to show someone who the true hero in this universe is, His Father assures us protection in His word,
"`No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me,' declares the LORD"
-Isaiah 54:17
As I leave this blog I want to leave you with a question. What is your life going to reflect? Are you going to die a hero, and trust the LORD to protect you from your enemies? Will you trust Christ to give you the wisdom to make hard decisions to strengthen your relationship with Him when the world will hate you at curse your name? Or are you going to become the villain? As for me, I am going to have my failures, but everyday I must strive to follow the wise words of Paul,
"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."- Philippians 1:21
Have a blessed Thanksgiving,
Chris
Amen.
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