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"The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand."
In 1973, four hostages were taken in a botched bank robbery in Stockholm, Sweden. At the end of their captivity, six days later, they actively resisted rescue. They refused to testify against their captors, raised money for their legal defense, and one of the female hostages later became engaged to one of her now jailed captors.
The Stockholm syndrome comes into play when a captive cannot escape, is isolated and threatened with death, but is shown token acts of kindness by the captor.
Obviously, this twisted state of the psyche got its name from later studies of these events that transpired in Stockholm. But the same syndrome has since been seen in other situations in life. It is seen in battered wives, survivors of the Holocaust (not many of them left), and like situations.
It basically boils down to this. The victim feels helpless and has lost hope for relief from a situation; gropes for and clings tenaciously to any little perceived goodness or benefit coming even from the person or situation causing the problem, and eventually begins to sense a false love and dedication to the very person or circumstance they’ve been imprisoned to.
Charles Swindoll says, “To walk by faith does not mean that we stop thinking. To trust God does not imply becoming slovenly or lazy or apathetic. What a distortion of biblical faith! You and I need to trust God for our finances, but that is no license to spend foolishly. You and I ought to trust God for safety in the car, but we’re not wise to pass in a blind curve. We trust God for our health, but that doesn’t mean we can chain smoke, stay up half the night, and subsist on potato chips and Twinkies without consequences. …Faith and careful planning go hand-in-hand. They always have.”
[Charles Swindoll. Moses: A Man of Selfless Dedication. (Nashville: Word Publishing, 1999) p. 27]
For more from Chuck, visit http://www.insight.org
In "Light of the Shadow of Jihad," Ravi Zacharias states, "What is the difference between companionship and communion? In companionship with God we come to Him recognizing our limit of strength. In communion with God we stay with Him, recognizing our depth of spirit. In companionship with God we long to see and understand. In communion with God we long to feel and belong. Thos...
Nate Barbour
(The following is a parable that I made up as an introduction. It is fictional. For a story of similar proportion, see the movie RADIO.)
He was never an all-star athlete, although he wanted to be. He didn’t have what it takes. Bobby’s body was disproportionate; one leg was longer than the other was, so he walked funny. And to see him run was definitely a sight for sore eyes. He always liked sports, in fact, every Friday night, he would be at his high school cheering on whatever team was playing that night--basketball, football, baseball, soccer, tennis. If there was a game, he was there, sporting pom-poms and a foam finger that said his team was number one.
One Friday night, the football coach noticed his dedication to the team, so he asked him if he’d like to be the water boy. Bobby was amazed. Besides all the stares and giggles because of his limp, he had never thought anyone ever noticed him, especially Coach Gordon. Bobby had tried out for the football team two years earlier, and the coach sent him packing. “You’re too…uncoordinated,” he said. But now, the chance to be the water boy. Bobby jumped on the opportunity and the next week, he was at practice everyday, filling cups with water and making sure every player had something to drink when he needed it.
Every now and then, a couple of the players would make fun of him. However, Bobby loved his position as the teams water boy and wasn’t going to quit. His parents told him that being the water boy on a team was the lowest of the low, and that they would never stoop so low as to being the water boy. In spite of his parents’ comments, Bobby was diligent to serve as the teams water boy for the entire season. The next year, Bobby’s senior year, Coach appointed Bobby as his personal assistant. Coach Gordon was so pleased with Bobby’s heart, that he took him in and taught him everything he knew about football. Bobby went on to college the next year, and in addition to his studies, Coach Gordon had asked him to be the assistant coach. Bobby helped coach the team all throughout college where he graduated with a degree in Sports Management. Bobby continued to move up the ladder and at the end of his career, he had won two Super Bowls and owned his own football team.
In the Christian reader, Ramon Williams writes that on April 28, 1996,
a gunman walked into a crowded cafe in Port Arthur, Australia, and started
shooting. Tony Kistan, a Salvation Army soldier from Sydney, and his wife
Sarah were in the restaurant when the bullets began to fly. Courageously
Tony stepped in front of his wife to shield her from the gunfire, and he was
one of the first to fall. Thirty-four victims eventually died in the incident,
including Tony Kistan. As he lay dying in his wife’s arms, he spoke his last
words, “I’m going to be with the Lord.”
Those final words of faith were quoted by the Australian media and
carried to the world. “At a press conference,” writes Williams, “Tony’s son
Nesan, 24, explained why his father held this assurance and described his
father’s dedication to the gospel. Hardened journalists and photographers
were seen wiping away tears from their eyes. In life, Tony had been a man
who witnessed for his Lord to strangers and friends alike, and now in death,
he had witnessed to others through his simple last statement.”
Philip Makari has a little to say about giving which is good, “Here I speak of a special type of giving, the giving of our total selves first to God. It is the giving of body, soul and spirit for God’s use that we may achieve, for ourselves and for others, the higher ends of God.
This is not, as you can see, charity giving. This is dedication giving. It is the giving of who and what we are. It is the type of giving expressed in a an engraved picture on one of the ancient cathedrals in Europe where an apostle stands between an altar and a plough, the symbols of dieing and serving, with the inscription, ‘READY FOR EITHER.”
This rule of sacrificially giving of ourselves that we might prepare the way of the Lord is like the case in all the experiences of life.
It is a common- sense rule that applies to all the situations of life:
Without serving that which we need to achieve, we simply can’t achieve it.
Life is a series of giving’s that we might gain.
Only where there is input can we expect an output.
Only when we deposit, can we expect return.
Don’t participate, don’t expect. No pain, no gain.
Nothing comes from nothing, nothing ever could.”
How many of us have watched Trading Spaces on TLC or seen Bob Villa and became inspired to finally do something about our own tired and outdated homes? It’s easy to get inspired to do something. Once inspired by seeing a weeks work condensed into a one hour TV show we can easily envision the lasting improvements we can make in our own homes. Yet here we sit; one month, six months, one year after starting and our weekend transformation sits half finished as we struggle to find the time to finish what we started.
This can happen in our spiritual lives too. We begin our walk with Christ full of excitement. Fully intending to do whatever it takes to make it all the way. But after a while, Christianity becomes too daily. It’s the same thing over and over again. The same prayers, the same worshi...
A child at birth has the capacity to become original. Or you can put him in a mold so that he will come out like everybody else.
"Babies are unreasonable; they expect far too much of existence. Each new generation that comes takes one look at the world, thinks wildly, Is this all they've done to it? and bursts into tears."
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