When I saw this title to an article in a magazine called RADIANT, I thought, "yeah, that sounds about right" so I decided to read on and see what Sara Groves had to say. In the end, although the title sounds pretty discouraging, it is actually an encouraging piece. The pullout quote is this..."There are many losing battles worth investing, in, simply because winning is not the point." Interesting. Winning is not the point??? I guess to summarize we need to do the right thing whether success, as currently defined in social, economic or human terms, is part of the equation or not. What must be realized, though, is this endeavor is tiring, costly and at times, lonely. The most well known example used is Mother Teresa. We see her as someone who accomplished great things - and she did - but the problem in Calcutta still exists. The battle has not been won. I am also sure she had many days where she was tired, wondered if it was all worth it and felt pretty alone, and that's okay. We can't help but believe that for every person she touched, it was worth it. Now...the question is, do I think it is worth it? Let's face it. Doing the easy thing is, well, easier. Many times it doesn't seem as tiring and most of the time it is probably a lot less lonely. So where is the encouraging part? I guess to me it is knowing that it is okay to question and wonder. Maybe it is better for us that we can't go through a list of accomplishments and revel in the successes we have had and feel like our job here on earth is done. I don't think that is the way it is supposed to be. I think the big thing in all of this is that we need others to encourage us. We need people to say that in light of eternity, fighting the battle, even if it is a battle within, is more than worth it.
Trying to keep the hope alive...
JAH
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