Editorials

Complete this metaphor in your own words: Life is ...! 
Some would say it is a roller coaster with its ups and downs. Others would say it is a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get. Still others will say it is but a dream or a game.

What metaphor does God use to describe life? Revelation 12 tells us that life is a war. This of course is much more than a metaphor; it is the reality of the situation in which we live. If we are in fact at war against Satan and the forces of evil in the heavenly realm than we ought to act as soldiers — we ought to see each other as a Band of Brothers. 

My wife gave me a stiff elbow in my side, " Are you going to work?"
"Yeah! Why?" I groggily replied,
"Because, it's 6:00AM! " she said, with alarm
"Why didn't the clock alarm go off?" I asked myself,"Oh, I forgot to change to A.M.! Again!".
Of course, her alarm was justified, as I was due at  my job at 6:20AM!!! It takes about 15 minutes for me to get to work ( if my cab comes on time! ) So I jumped up and called my job and told them I might be about 5-7 minutes late. I then called a cab. I did a Superman wardrobe change, threw some water on my face and bolted out of the house.

As I reached the desk of my dispatcher, I noticed that I was a few minutes over the 10 minute grace allowance. The dispatcher looked at me and said the words I dreaded, "Your run is gone, sorry." At that time, I felt all the energy drain out of me. A growing malaise engulfed my thinking. I knew I should have waited around to see if anyone else, missed work (then I might be able to work that run) but I just wanted to leave. As I walked out I felt like I wanted to leave my job, period! Quit!

What image comes to mind when you hear the word coward? The pathetic male passenger cowering in the rear of a lifeboat while the women and children are left behind to drown? Or a naive coworker foolishly covering for his associate who leaves work early every Friday afternoon?

Cowardice is defined as lacking courage, or more simply put allowing fear to dictate what we will or won't do. Courage by contrast is the willingness to act without regard to personal cost. We have read that "no greater love has any man than to lay down his life for a friend". Courage then is dependant upon a knowledge of, and faith in a greater good which in this case is perfect love, which is able to drive out fear. We all, of course, would like to be identified more with courage than cowardice. Sadly, for most of us however, the inverse is more often true than not.

In the movie The Prestige we witness two magicians whose grudges toward one another drive them to attempts at sabotaging each others careers as magicians. The sabotage progresses into acts of violence and eventually death.

We are taken backstage and are confided in with some secrets of the trade and the nature of what makes these magic tricks go over so well with us. While the movie is worth seeing just for the story line and great acting, it is the insight into human nature that intrigued me most.