Watch Me First: Just a Flesh Wound (Youtube Clip)
*Warning: Though incredibly corny, this clip displays images of blood and gore... very, very corny blood and gore.
I LOVE the spirit of the Black Knight. Though his arms and legs are hacked off, he continues to hobble around like a stump on the ground, refusing to give in and refusing to give up. He loses an arm and, "'tis a scratch." Another arm and it's, "just a flesh wound." He has valid reasons to quit; valid reasons to say he "can't" go on any further. Valid reasons to say that someone else hurt him so he couldn't do any better.
But this is not the heart of our knight.
Just a flesh wound...
We can all think of times in life when we've felt victimized. In some cases, we really are being victimized. In others, perhaps it is our own perspective of the problem that leads us to believe we are victims of something that is bigger than us, that we are incapable of overcoming. Whether literally a victim or simply a victim of perspective, the harsh reality is that victim mentality sucks. It sucks the life out of you. It sucks vision out of you. It sucks fight and faith out of your heart and soul. It sucks.
If you are reading today, and you know what it feels like to be a victim, consider whether you are giving the oppressor more power than he/she/it/whatever deserves. What does it look like to acknowledge that you have been victimized yet refuse to "play the victim"? Consider this:
You were hurt.
It happened.
It mattered.
You matter.
It wasn't ok.
It's still not ok.
In fact, it sucks.
It may even be sucking the life out of you.
Is it?
Is it time?...
Is it time to pull that sucker off?
Is it time to let go?
Is it time to move on?
If you do,
You will still have been hurt.
It will still have happened.
It will still have mattered.
YOU will still matter.
And why?
Because...
YOU are MORE than your WOUNDS.
You are more than your wounds. Your wounds are not the boss of you (unless you let them be). Your oppressors are not the boss of you (unless you let them be). You may have been victimized, but you do not have to be a victim. You do not have to be the victim of your circumstances, your experiences, your sufferings or your relationships.
Take ownership today. Take ownership of your life - your choices, your responses, your character, your future, your present, your today, YOU. Take ownership of you. You cannot control who others are or what they will do. But you can control you. You CAN. With God's help, by His grace, you can.
Today, when you feel like falling back into the mentality of a victim, choose instead to be a victor. If you have to hobble your way through life, beaten and bullied like our bloody Black Knight, laugh in the face of your enemy and embrace the spirit that rises above.
"The Lord is on my side; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
The Lord is with me; He is my Helper.
I will look in triumph on my enemies...
The Lord is my Strength and my Defense
And has become my Salvation.
I will not die, but live,
And will tell what the Lord has done."
- Psalm 118:6-7,14, 17
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