Last night I was listening to my iPod and on came a song whose
chorus stated, "Give me something to die for..." We often hear the
phrase, "Give me something to live for," but this other way of
saying it seems more profound.
There are plenty of things out there to live for, there is no short
supply, but that rarely seems to be enough for most people. I
remember reading a book about the English Hooligans. The
conclusion of the book was that these English males (mostly)
needed a sense of belonging which, in the past, was supplied by
National pride during times of war such as WWI and II. With the
lengthening time since those wars, men in England looked to
something else to bring back that National pride. They found it
in their football clubs. But it wasn't enough to just go to the matches
and support their clubs. They had to move it to a feeling of war. With
all the prejudices that arise in war and the colors and violence. We
have often focused on the English but there are smaller versions of
this all around Europe. It seems that a club worth living for wasn't
enough. These people needed a club worth dying for. So they raised
their support up to a level that certainly could bring the possibility
of death.
And are these football fanatics an isolated example? I am beginning
to wonder. We see it in the military, in militias, on the roads, in gangs,
in the political realm, in religious conflicts, and even in pacifists. When
I started to think it through it was quite amazing to me how pervasive
this idea is throughout all of culture. It manifests itself in many
different ways. There are violent gangs, there are militias and warlords,
there are homicide bombers, there are vigilanties, and there are even
peace protesters who put themselves in harms way.
What do all of these people have in common? They all seem to have
a need for something more, something to die for. If a leader asks his
people to live for him, some follow and some don't but nobody does
it with much vigor, but when a leader asks his people to die for
him, the support is overwhelming and intense. We see this most
often at times of war. When a speech is made by a president or
a prime minister and the people rally around the cause. When
a country goes a long time without some life and death situation
the people seem to loose the passion for life. Things get dull.
Then I thought about the fact that we are all created in God's
image and wondered about what this idea said about God. Is He
interested only in having something that is so important that it
is worth dying for? And is that the sort of passion that He instills
in us? That we have this inner desire to be involved in something
so important that it is worth dying for? And what happens when
there isn't anything like that? I can see two things ending up
happening. Either people become self absorbed and ultimately
depressed and live in a sense of hopelessness and apathy or they
begin to attribute greater importance to lesser things. The classic
example would be the English Hooligans. They, without a real
thing of value in their lives to pour their passion into, elevated
football to a thing of utmost importance. Important enough to
die for. And many did. Some people increase risk through
dangerous activities. And some take usually mundane protests
to the extreme. I think that all of these things point to an inner
passion that drives us to finding something in our lives of such
paramount importance that it is worthy of death itself. Somehow
it seems that death is more important to us than life. And life,
without the threat of death does not interest us. To the point
where we will go to great lengths to invent things that involve
the threat of death. Ultimately, for some, choosing to die by
suicide rather than live life without that thing that is worthy of
dying for.
Of course it is not that I am saying we want to be oppressed and
live under the threat of death such as what might occur in an abusive
relationship or slavery or tyrrany. No one desires that, but what
I am talking about is a positive thing that we can believe in, get
behind and support to the point of death if necessary. You might
ask how gangs or drug cartels can be positive. To most of us they
are not positive but when you hear the people involved in them talk, they
view it as positive. A family sort of system. They belong to
something bigger than themselves.
I think that is the key to the whole thing. Each one of us knows
within that we are not the biggest thing in the universe. We all
know that there is something bigger than us out there. And it is
a burning desire within each of us to belong to that thing that is
bigger than we are. There are millions of things that people choose
to be a part of but, as a Christian, I believe the thing we are desiring
so deeply is God, Himself. That thing inside us is really desiring
to be a part of God. And don't think that isn't dangerous. Don't think
that is void of the possibility of death. In fact, it requires standing
against evil. Evil that certainly is not remiss in killing when the
opportunity presents itself. And actually, belonging to God requires
death. And in death, victory. It seems to be what we are made for.
So how do we work that into what we do? Without turning it
into some new "holy war". How do we keep it positive? Or, maybe
it is God's plan to change our propensity towards death to a deep
desire for life. And if it is, I can only imagine that happening in
a place completely different from this place. Someplace like Heaven,
maybe? I haven't finished thinking about this and don't have any
conclusions to offer you in closing. So please bring your own
comments to the table. I think this could be very interesting.
