Finding a Gardner to Protect You

Suggested Reading: Ecclesiastes 4:8-12

Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy came closer than any previous big screen adaptions to capturing the essence of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic literary work. In fact, the movies nailed one of the primary dynamics of the book: the relationship between Frodo, the ring-bearer tasked with carrying the burden of the evil One Ring to Mount Doom, and Samwise Gamgee, the trusted gardener who accompanies the ring bearer. Without Sam to help him carry the load, to motivate and push him, to literally carry him at times, Frodo would never have been able to destroy the ring and save the world. By himself, Frodo would have failed, but with the help and support of his friend, Frodo was able to complete his mission and Good triumphed.

Quite often, we face circumstances and trials that might overwhelm us or completely defeat us if we faced them alone. Solomon included this principle when writing Ecclesiastes, saying, A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken (Ecclesiastes 4:12, NLT).  I would daresay that most of us understand this principle, but I wonder how often we intentionally take advantage of it. How often do we seek out friends and companions, people of similar convictions and principles, simply because we will be stronger by doing so?

One of the things Americans, such as myself, tend to value is self-reliance, and there is great value in being able to manage single-person sized tasks by oneself. But many things in life are too large, too difficult, or simply too overwhelming for one person to handle alone. Unfortunately, when those problems arise and those difficulties reveal themselves, the time to develop those relationships and friendships has long passed. The time to develop relationships which will strengthen you for difficulties is before those difficulties arise.

How have you been seeking out relationships with people of similar convictions and goals? What have you been doing to form relationships that will provide strength and support when dark days come? You might survive without them, but you are much more likely to thrive with another person (or more) who will guard your back in the battles of life.

Entertaining Enchantresses and Strangers

Suggested Reading: Hebrews 13:1-16

The first animated movie nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award was well worth it just for the incredibly beautiful opening sequence. Disney's Beauty and the Beast begins with the gorgeous, sweeping view of a forest in full bloom and zooms in on a castle in the background. The narration begins, "There once was a prince who lived in a charming castle..." Then stain glass windows tell us the story of this prince who was visited by an old woman begging for a place to stay the night in exchange for a single rose. The prince, in his callousness, turned the old woman away, only to discover that she was a beautiful enchantress who had disguised herself to test him.  The scene makes a wonderful beginning for a fairytale, but the scenario is not so far-fetched as we might imagine. Hebrews 13:2 warns us," Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares" (ESV). 

As I read this verse recently I thought about its context, having been written in a day and age when people routinely traveled from city to city, never knowing if there would be an inn or a hotel, with most people needing to rely on the hospitality of strangers. American society really isn't set up that way. We have hotels and motels in every major city and nearly all of the small ones. We have cars and bus stops and truck stops. People can find shelter if they really want to, so this doesn't really apply to us anymore, right?

But hospitality isn't simply about providing a roof over someone's head. Hospitality is about caring for people and giving of ourselves to make people feel welcome and secure. Hospitality is about providing warmth and friendship to those without any close at hand. And all of those things apply today.

The author of Hebrews, though, warns us specifically not to neglect hospitality to strangers. We are to provide warmth and friendship, welcome and security to people we don't know, to strangers, and he doesn't give us any caveats about only providing hospitality when it isn't potentially dangerous. We are to be "wise as serpents and harmless as doves" (Matthew 10:16), but we don't get to overlook someone's need because we are uncomfortable or we have unfounded skepticism about the reality of their need. As believers, we are expected to show hospitality to strangers, to invite them into our homes, and to offer them welcome and friendship.

As uncomfortable as we might feel welcoming strangers into our homes or attempting to make strangers feel welcome, we never know when God might be testing our maturity. Who knows? We might even get the chance to entertain angels.

The One Ring of Unforgiveness

Suggested Reading: Proverbs 17:1-10

Throughout the epic Lord of the Rings, the One Ring holds onto its owner as much as its owner holds onto it. The One Ring grabs hold of its owner and possesses their thoughts. It alters their personality and they begin to act in ways once foreign to them. Miraculously, Frodo managed to carry the ring all the way to Mount Doom where he had planned to throw it into the volcanic pit so that the Ring and its dangerous power could be destroyed. But when the time came to throw it into the pit, Frodo couldn't do it. He wanted to hold onto it. Presumably Frodo could have done a lot of good with the power at the Ring's disposal. And I think in the movie he tried to convince himself of that. But he never really wanted to hold onto the ring for the good it could do. He wanted to hold onto the ring because it was holding onto him.

Sadly, we often treat grudges just like the One Ring. Someone hurts us but then we never let go of it. We carry it around with us like a dead weight. Bitterness grows inside us and it changes our personality. And then we pretend to forgive but we hold onto it because "we need to deal with it" when, really, that's just a good way to hang on a little bit longer. Proverbs 17:9 tells us, "Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends" (NLT). Sometimes, we "forgive" the people who have hurt us but we hold onto the issue because we "need to deal with it" or because we "need to be wise." But the truth is that we hold onto the hurt because the hurt has a hold on us. We dwell on it and then try to call it something admirable. And while we hold onto it, that hurt pushes us further and further away from the people around us.

Grudges and bitterness hold onto us as much as we hold onto them, and we cannot allow ourselves to be deluded about why we hold onto them. We will never be able to use unforgiveness to help ourselves anymore than Frodo could use the One Ring for good. Dwelling on hurts is only good for driving people apart.