“We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Pick up a stone and throw if you are free of same sin ,she was accused of. He who said he hasn’t sin ,calls God a liar”. These are popular verses in the bible, pointing to one single thing, we are not perfect.
Each person has things they deal with and things that deal with them. They struggle, trying to keep them controlled and managed below an escalation level.
To some, they are small foxes, to others they are monsters but in this piece I have chosen to call them dragons.
These dragons come in different forms, sizes and shapes, performing different functions.
The dragon is a symbol of evil, in both the chivalric and Christian traditions. In the Orient, it symbolizes supernatural power, wisdom, strength, and hidden knowledge. In most traditions, it is the embodiment of chaos and untamed nature
The last lines of the above definition nails it. It brings out clearly the very nature of dragon in relation to human behaviour. Chaos and untamed!
Few days ago, all over social media, the news of some popular personalities slaping themselves at the full glare of the public made viral rounds. It was reprehensible to say the least. The dragon in them was finding expression,untamed and quite chaotic.
Could they have managed the situation without the kind of escalation it took? Of course yes , but it is not everybody that has the calmness and the poise to manage both the inside and the outside dragons.
When Peter was face to face with the Jewish army who came to arrest Jesus, the dragon in him roared, cutting off the ear of one of the soilders. Was that the best approach? Could he had restrained from such?
There are a lot of dragons inside us struggling for expression as much as those outside , looking for those to devour.
None is without a dragon inside, and none is immune to the volatility and punchy blows of the dragons outside.
What happened between those two personalities that engaged in a near public fisticuff was the reaction of the two dragons in them.
Blessed are the meek for they shall see God. These are people whose dragons are under control, their violence and untamed nature of aggression gaged . Not that they are perfect and unblemish, no! they simply have a control on their emotions
They react to things differently, nothing moves them, no amount of provocation stires the dragon in them , they have a way of making an insult look common , a venom unlethal, an arrow blunt and a flame unhurt. They step unto spikes and nails, hot ashes and fire embers and walk away unhurt to the great chagrin of their aggressors.
They are not God, not perfect, not unblemish, mere human beings they are, whose dragons are quite submissive and yielding, not violent and not aggressive.
The world we are is in a great supply of dragons. Those who are weak get overwhelmed, burn their fingers and make a fool of themselves before the glare of the public ,while those who are in control of theirs, make a shine off them, create niche for themselves, and stand head and shoulders over whatever antics that is designed to make them look small.
Joseph ‘ dragon was tamed before the persuading antics of Potipha’ wife. For Samson his dragons was reactive, he wasn’t in control like Joseph, an act that brought a bright destiny to a gloomy sudden end.
Cain had an aggressive dragon, bringing his destiny into misery. The dragon in Moses nearly caused him the bliss of God’s presence.
The Russia/ Ukraine war is nothing but the untamed dragons finding expressions in the two leaders.
We all have our individual Dragons, the level of damage they cause is determined by the level of control we are ready to give their expressions.
Destines have be destroyed, relationship tarnished, God’s presence stiffled etc All because of some untamed Dragons.
The damage it has done in the body of Christ is phenomenal.
For one to go far in life, succed and make impact, taming ones dragons is a must and must be done diligently
Know your Dragons, find a way of putting them under control no matter the aggression and incitement from the Dragon outside.
We are born bond by these dragons, remaining bond , under their control or breaking forth into the boundless space of freedom from their encumbrance is a personal choice one has to make however difficult.
Tame them now, or get disgraced and emotionally wrecked by them in the future.
Happy Lenten season.
#JARLATH
