Picking Battles

There’s a war on for everything nowadays. There’s a war on poverty, a war on drugs, a war on the patriarchy, the system, capitalism, babies, political correctness for and against, your mind, your wallet, your kids, your individuality, fur, meat, God, Christianity, reason, science, and the list goes on.

Everyone is fighting for or against something nowadays. Some things are noble and necessary like the war against abortion on demand, while others are less so, like the war on Christmas. It goes without saying that you can only fight so many battles at any given time. Hence the reason for picking and prioritizing which battles are worth fighting. Notice, I did not say picking which battles you are likely to win, I said picking battles that are worth the fight.

If the criterion upon which you pick your battles is whether you will win or not, every victory will be hollow. It’s like a heavyweight boxer picking a fight with a wheelchair-bound anorexic. Sure, technically he can put another notch in the win column, but does it really count?

If you never pick a fight with a giant, you will never slay a giant!

Not engaging in a battle because you are outnumbered or because you believe your odds of winning are less than optimal, is not pragmatism, it’s cowardice. This is why I have no respect for Christians who choose not to engage the enemy based on political expediency, or positioning. It is a fowl thing to sheath one’s sword and acquiesce to the enemy because you believe it will benefit you personally at some point in the future.

There are vivid examples throughout the history of mankind, wherein certain individuals chose to betray their principles, their nation, and their brothers in arms for personal gain, or to save their own skin. Whatever their reasoning, however iron clad their defense of their actions, such men were branded traitors, and their names live on in infamy.  

Timidity has no place on the battlefield. You stand, you fight, you do the hard thing because it’s the right thing to do, with no consideration of how others will perceive you, or what others will think of you.

Fear of man fuels cowardice, and once we give in to it, we will always find an excuse for why we didn’t stand, and why we didn’t make our voices heard. In our unending quest to please men, we have surrendered to impotence, and because the heart of man is exceedingly wicked, we grow to resent those who still dare to fight.

I have no qualms about burning bridges as long as I know I’m on the right side of the bridge. I have made my peace with the reality that I will be hated for His name’s sake, and it is a badge of honor I wear proudly. The mindset of the warrior isn’t whether his enemy will like him, or think he is a nice fellow. The mindset of the warrior is to vanquish his foe and survive the day.

Be prepared, be on guard, and be ready. Whether you pick your battle, or the battle comes to you, the battle is inevitable. 

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea Jr.