Crazy mad ninja skills can take you only so far in life
I truly believe that, when I get to the end of my life, I will be able to look back and feel as though I have squeezed every drop of fun and adventure out of it. God has blessed me to be able to do many things that make for quite an interesting bucket list.
One of the things in that bucket was fulfilled in 1992 when I earned my black belt. But, like so many, life got very busy thereafter. That is to say that I have practiced on and off through the years but have not continued to attend classes. Something about getting married, 10 years of college, three children, starting a church, building two buildings, learning foreign languages, traveling overseas, getting into scuba diving, taking up power lifting — the list could go on and on — has not left much time for the martial arts.
So I have often wondered if I still have all of the skills and sharpness and if I would be adequately prepared in a time of crisis.
And then came the day that I was mowing grass in the wooded area beside our church. The ground slopes steeply away at certain points, and once the mower starts downward, there is no stopping or going back.
Coming around a tree and then going down one of those slopes, completely oblivious to anything but the task at hand, I encountered an enemy of biblical proportions. There simply is no giant, lion, demon or devil from the pit that strikes instant fear and terror into a heart quicker than unexpectedly running your face through an inhabited spider web.
I am quite certain, looking back on the entire event, that the spider was no happier about the arrangement than I was. Nonetheless, at that moment, all reason was gone, and there was only the desperate desire to survive, the instant “fight or flight” reaction that God has built into all of us. And it was then that all of my crazy mad ninja skills came flooding back in a split instant of time.
There were wild flailing chops. There were defensive gyrations of the arms and wrists that would make Mr. Miyagi shed tears of utter joy. There were guttural screams that were doubtless meant to mimic the normal “kiya!” of the trained martial artist, but instead surely sounded like the squealing, agonized cries of a constipated elk.
And then I saw him, my dreaded foe. He was about a quarter of an inch long and was hurriedly scooting across my stomach, six legs running for safety, two covering his ears against my frightened fury.
Instantly, I went into action. I distinctly remember six or seven hard chops to the midsection. Not his — mine. This did not result in any harm to the spider, mind you. He was quick enough to dodge each one. It did leave me, though, with the distinct impression that my chops were still good, but my abs need some retightening.
The spider lived. He lives still, as far as I know, and is doubtless going to tell and retell to his children and grandchildren his tale of victory over the giant on the metal monster. I myself live also, since, as a famous president once said, “We have nothing to fear but a spider web to the face,” or something along those lines.
All of this has me thinking, though. Why does it take an unexpected disaster for us to find out if we are ready for something? Should we not be prepared and know it?
Proverbs 21:31 says “The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the Lord.” That verse has two parts, not one. It is easy to claim that safety is of the Lord, but we have no real right to do so if we are not also preparing the horse unto the day of battle.
This is something I wish our population understood better. In every area of your life, you better be looking ahead, seeing what potential problems could arise and preparing yourself for them. I see people consistently unprepared in financial matters, retirement matters, endof-life matters, educational matters, relationship matters, self-defense matters, spiritual matters and so much more.
I have even seen Christians rail on insurance as a “lack of faith,” and then watched as they set up GoFundMe pages asking others to bail them out of the disasters that sprang up in their lives.
Much of this stems from a lack of discipline. People are simply unwilling to do without things now so that they may be much better off later. Everything they buy has to be the newest model or version, and “keeping up with the Joneses” is not just a goal, it is practically religious dogma.
As well as you possibly can, prepare yourself for what may come. If you don’t, you may find that the situation you are eventually confronted with is much more harmful than a spider web to the face.
Bo Wagner is pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church of Mooresboro, North Carolina, a widely traveled evangelist and the author of several books available on Amazon and atwww.wordofhismouth. com. Email him at 2knowhim@cbc-web.org.