Whoever fights monsters

“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”

― Friedrich Nietzsche

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It seems to be a law of nature

we become that which we would fight

in our wars against evil we become evil

violent, oppressive and unjust

in our wars against terror we become terrorists

in our battles against what we perceived to be

the forces of darkness, we become a dark force

history is littered with moments

when people, wanting to fight evil

have become increasingly like the evil they would master

there have always been

a few

crazy

bright shining stars

sparkling in the darkness

refusing to fight hate with hate

and violence with violence

but for the most part, those who would walk that way

are deemed fools, impractical

and weak

above all weak

tell that to MLK and Gandhi

tell that to Jesus

there was nothing less logical

than the cross

nothing weaker, than allowing yourself to be captured

humiliated, and killed

so that love might win

Jesus above all others

refused to fight evil with evil

instead he overpowered evil with good

that life, which ended with what must have seemed like a whimper

so many years ago

has shaped the world

for good, when the people of Jesus have followed his way

and have walked the way of compassion and servant-hood

the way of sacrifice

for evil, when those who would follow Jesus have chosen

to fight the “monsters” of fear, and hate

by invoking fear and hate

If you want to understand how to fight

monsters

look not to the way of great power

but to the way of great sacrifice