The unsung heroes
Michael Caine began his climb to movie stardom with his part in the movie Zulu. Perhaps you’ll remember that it centers round a relative handful of soldiers in a "fort" (a clearing with a number of farm buildings in it) fighting a series of pitched battles against a Zulu host that compared with them was too large to calculate. After every attack they had fewer men and the central area grew smaller. When the scene is set for the final Zulu attack that would over-run the garrison, maybe a dozen troops fully purposed to die before tamely surrendering or running away. It was then that what they feared most appeared. Instead of many numerous smaller units attacking various points as before the whole Zulu force silently appeared on the top of the hill that ran round one side of the collection of buildings that was their fort. For the first time the soldiers realized the size of their enemy, now seeing it in one vast gathering. The enemy stood silently looking down on them, letting them sense the full strength of the force against them, the force they had been refusing to give in to. Then the whole multitude of warriors began to chant/sing in that awesome way of theirs; both lovely and spine-tingling, thunderous, rhythmic and musical—but awesome! Shaken to the core the remnant then heard a Zulu chief call to them with words they thought were insult and threats. But one who knew the country and knew the Zulus put them at ease by telling them that he was praising their courage and that this whole exhibition of song and sermon was a hymn to their gallantry. The Zulu host walked away shaking their heads in admiring disbelief and left the handful their lives. That single scene made enduring the whole movie worthwhile. You don’t have to agree with war to applaud courage and you don’t have to think weapons settle anything to rise to your feet to praise gallantry.
Moral and spiritual battles are no less real, no less fierce and certainly no less prolonged than the other wars. There are those of us that make daily war against besetting sins that threaten to entirely unravel us. Sins that would suck the courage right out of us and lead us to abject despair because they seem to overcome us with such contemptuous ease no matter how earnestly we vow to win the next encounter. Time and time and time again they suffer loss but refuse to give up the citadel of the soul. There are people who live under the toughest circumstances and face the temptation to quit the struggle, spit in the eye of God and let their passions and their weariness be their lord. But here they come again, crawling up to the barricade to take their place with others in opposing the enemy. And then there are those--God bless them!--that wrestle with sinister drives that they refuse to allow to become besetting sins. All these are the unsung heroes of the world. George Adam Smith was right on target when he said this.
"What starved garrison, that marched from its inviolate fortress with all the honours of war and to the admiration of its foes, ever deserved half the glory...which thousands of tempted souls deserve...who hold the fortresses of their lonely lives against the devils of dishonesty and greed and lust. And yet you have strong men whining to-day all the world over—and some of them parading their whines in literature—that the temptations of their strength are too great for them; and slipping off into the pleasant mire with the cry, I cannot help it.What forgetfulness! What cowardice!"
©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.
Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.