Why Does Every Story Have a Villain?

As I mentioned in a previous post (http://benswinningways.blogspot.com/2007/05/wild-at-heart-boot-camp-may-2007.html), I attended a "Boot Camp" in Colorado earlier this month. One of the first things I was given at registration were dog tags....as in military hang around your neck dog tags.

Now that I am home, I keep them in a very conspicuous place where I can see them first thing each morning. My dog tags serve as a reminder....a sort of reorientation of the world in which I live. I'm convinced that in this post-modern era in which we live, a majority in this culture have been lulled into not even buying into the "villain" part of our existence. For a time I, too, was taken out with more of an apathetic attitude to all of this rather than rank disbelief. No longer!

Best-selling author John Eldredge does a great job relating all of what I've mentioned above in reading 149 from his book The Ransomed Heart. The following is taken from another Eldredge book Waking the Dead pp 150-151:

The question is not, Are we spiritually oppressed, but Where and How?
Think of it—why does every story have a villain? Little Red Riding Hood is
attacked by a wolf. Dorothy must face and bring down the Wicked Witch of the
West. Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi go hand to hand against Darth Maul. To
release the captives of the Matrix, Neo battles the powerful “agents.” Frodo is
hunted by the Black Riders. (The Morgul blade that the Black Riders pierced
Frodo with in the battle on Weathertop—it was aimed at his heart). Beowulf kills
the monster Grendel, and then he has to battle Grendel’s mother. Saint George
slays the dragon. The children who stumbled into Narnia are called upon by Aslan
to battle the White Witch and her armies so that Narnia might be free. Every
story has a villain because yours does. You were born into a world at war. When
Satan lost the battle against Michael and his angels, “he was hurled to the
earth, and his angels with him” (Rev. 12:9). That means that right now, on this
earth, there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of fallen angels, foul
spirits, bent on our destruction. And what is Satan’s mood? “He is filled with
fury, because he knows that his time is short” (v. 12). So what does he spend
every day and every night of his sleepless, untiring existence doing? “Then the
dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against . . . those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus” (v. 17). He has you in his crosshairs, and he isn’t smiling. You have an enemy. He is trying to
steal your freedom, kill your heart, destroy your life.

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Resource: http://www.ransomedheart.com

So, You Want A Lot, Do You?

In our culture today you can find a formula or system to achieve just about anything you're looking for. There's the 7 steps to be effective at work and home, 12 steps to solve an addiction, 8 steps to wealth and happiness. You know exactly what I'm talking about. You might even be like me and purchased a book or program on one or several of these do-it-yourself strategies. Also, like me, you might have enjoyed a bit of success applying what was taught.

But in the long term, if I'm being completely honest with myself (and I am), these techniques did not bring me to the resolution I was looking for. In fact, some left me downright worn out with their long list of daily to-do items, ways to think, principles to apply. I was exhausted and my world did not look measurably improved from all this long-term work I'd performed to make my life better....healthier, wealthier, wiser.

It is with this backdrop that I took pause and looked up awhile back during a time each day when I pray and read my Bible. The sentence that jumped out at me said:

Your barns will burst,

your wine vats will brim over.

Never mind that I had read the book of Proverbs probably a 100 times over the last 30 years and this phrase never came up before. It also could be that when I attended church, so much of the "giving" messages came across to me as manipulative and self-serving. It was all just such a major turn-off for me. Give so we can keep this business/church humming and I (the church leader) can live an abundant life is really what was being preached. I didn't see the proof in the message working for so many of the members who were "sacrificially" practicing giving their 10% (off the top of course). [Just to clarify at this point: If you hear some sarcasm or cynicism here, that's not exactly what's going on. Rather, I'm pissed off at anyone, including ministers/preachers, who teach a message that puts people in bondage rather than liberates them AND I strongly prefer Truth to a self-serving tome.] Okay, now that I've gotten that out of the way, let me get back to what I learned.

To better understand this phrase in context, I went back in the story a bit. Here's what it says:

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;

don't try to figure out everything on your own.

Listen for God's voice in everything you do,

everywhere you go;

he's the one who will keep you on track.

Don't assume you know it all.

Run to God! Run from evil!

Your body will glow with health,

your very bones will vibrate with life!

Honor God with everything you own;

give him the first and the best.

Your barns will burst,

your wine vats will brim over.

But don't, dear friend, resent God's discipline;

don't sulk under his loving correction.

It's the child he loves that God corrects;

a father's delight is behind all this.

Proverbs 3:5-12

As I've meditated on this passage these past weeks, it continues to occur to me that there is so, so very much here. This post is only addressing barns and wine vats.....and I'm convinced that their bursting and overflowing is a by-product, the effect so to speak, of a certain cause. NO, I'm not advocating a formula! This has to stem from a person's heart.

Quite simply, but not necessarily so in practice, we are admonished to "Honor God with everything we own" and "give him the first and the best." As I asked Father and meditated on this, it was clear to me that I'd been blowing it. You can look up the word honor on your own. in a nutshell, I take it to mean in this case that we convey respect and esteem God as the true source of all that we call our own. Yes, there's so much more but you get my gist here.

Then comes the action part for us: "give him the first and the best." GIVE!

About a month before this message jumped out at me, I received my first check from a new business venture. I was excited about the quick return and decided to use a portion of the windfall to celebrate. I've received many firsts and I've not been giving that "first and the best" to God. I was lead to tell Father I'm sorry and ask forgiveness. I resolved to hear and obey this new understanding. I'll be giving to God where the Isaiah 61 message is being proclaimed.

That's the message here. Out of obedience and our heart's desire to please our True Father, we give Him the first and the best. That's it! That's the cause and the effect is clearly stated:

....Your barns will burst,

your wine vats will brim over.

Wild At Heart Boot Camp - May 2007

During the first week of May I joined 450 men from 5 continents throughout the world near Fraser, Colorado. West of Denver in the Colorado Rockies, our conference center was above the 10,000 foot elevation mark. Despite being well into spring, we experienced snow every day.

Attending one of Ransomed Heart's Boot Camps is not an easy feat. You have to navigate their registration process just to get into their lottery. I did and I got selected, paid my fee within the short time limit to secure my space nearly 6 months before the event. Once there I learned that for every one man selected in the lottery to attend, four miss out. I knew beforehand that Boot Camp was something I really NEEDED to attend and that this Boot Camp in May was the one I should be at. When I set foot in the camp, which was more akin to a conference center, I DEFINITELY KNEW that this was a Divine appointment. I was destined to learn a lot over the next four days.

Ransomed Heart bills these "events" as follows:
To see thousands across the world set free, to help them come alive as whole and holy men and women of God, to show them how to live from their hearts in holiness in a world at war where our choices matter--this is the goal of Ransomed Heart events. Our events (Wild at Heart Boot Camp for men and Captivating for women) are unlike any other event you’ve attended--talk to someone who’s been there!

Over the years I've attended a multitude of corporate and personal development training events. Some lasted a day. Others were for an entire week with heavy pre-conference preparation. Several required intensive testing and post-conference coaching. All were very expensive with one approaching the $20,000 mark. They were worth it and served me well at the time. Wild at Heart Boot Camp was exactly as they billed it---unlike any other even I've ever participated in. Unequivocally, this was THE most powerful event I have ever been a part of!

Prior to attending, I spent a lot of time working through the Wild at Heart Field Manual. For me, this proved essential. Had I shown up at the Boot Camp without having done this, I don't think my experience would have been nearly as rich.

While atop the mountain so much happened for me in such a short time that it is challenging to point to just one or two highlights. For sure getting a deeper perspective and understanding of where we are in the larger story, what's really going on....orientation.....that's a biggie for me. To a large degree I already had a good read on orientation, but the power of their presentation put me in warp speed down the rabbit hole. I understand!

Two other things struck me (besides all of my personal learnings). One is the humility of the Ransomed Heart team. Not a fake or pious false humility. The other is how very real and vulnerable the presentation team was. They were there to deliver a message. They were not there to draw attention to themselves or create their own little following or dynasty. They shared from their heart and from their own experiences and they didn't couch everything in religious jargon.

Free and alive! Absolutely. POWERFUL! Words just don't seem to fit what I experienced.
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Resources: http://ransomedheart.com/