Fight or Flight?

 Have you ever been in a fight? I'm talking about a real fight, with punches being thrown, blood, tears, adrenaline pumping. A real, Colin-Firth-vs-Hugh-Grant fight! Well, about 7 years ago, I went home to Toledo for Memorial Day weekend. I was 25 years old and I went clubbing with two of my sisters. Long story short, a fight broke out. I saw one of my sisters get hit in the face with a bottle...and it was kind of like: whoa I have to fight! So I ran up, punched that girl in the face, grabbed the arms of both my sisters and dragged them out of the club.

In retrospect, it is one of my greatest achievements! I didn't cause the fight, but...I finished it. Just kidding. However, when it comes down to conflict I have two options: Fight or Flight. Those are the natural human reactions. But what if there's another choice?

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. - Matthew 5:5

I take this two ways: naturally and spiritually. The ability to do this spiritually precedes the ability to do it naturally, and I believe that this characteristic (meekness) is empowered by a supernatural ability to experience peace (fruit of the spirit tie in). What does it mean to be meek? And what is peace?

Meek - overly submissive and compliant. It means to be spiritless, and tame. 
Peace -  freedom from, or the cessation of war and violence.
 
Ultimately these words, taken in conjunction, mean you don't fight. Spiritually, this means you don't fight God. And naturally, this means you don't fight those who are made in His image.

So in the world of "fight or flight", Jesus presents a third (seemingly wretched) option: Take it. 

Spiritually, this sounds easy: "Ok, I won't fight God...I'd lose anyway." True. However, we still fight God all the time. As I've said in other posts, the Beatitudes are progressive. If you're still rich in spirit (i.e. self-sufficient and self-righteous), then you haven't mourned over the mistaken course of your life previously. As such, it's hard to be submissive and compliant because...you know better. You know when to fight. And you know when to make for the hills. What you don't know is how to submit. 

There's is a biblical figure who I believe is just like us. He's one of my favorites, and you'll never hear him referred to as "meek." His name is Jonah.

The Jonah story in a nutshell:

1. God tells Jonah to go preach doom to the people of Nineveh (because of their sins)
2. Jonah thinks "Nope" then makes a run for it (flight) via boat
3. God is like "le sigh" and sends a storm, Jonah is thrown overboard, a fish swallows him, voms him back up and suddenly...
4. Jonah is compliant

But you know what? He's not compliant. He just lost the fight.  After Jonah preached his message, the Ninevites went all poverty of spirit and mourned over sins:

Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them. - Jonah 3:5

And since God doesn't turn repentance down, God decided not to destroy their city. Yay! Happy ending? Not for Jonah:

But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, “Please Lord, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish..."- Jonah 4:1-2

How often is this us? How often do you think you can stop something? Or how often do you think your way is better, or that it has to be your way in order to be right? We fight God by running away from His call and by making His will subordinate to our own. Believe me, God doesn't start the fight...but He finishes it. No laughing now. Jonah wasn't meek/couldn't peacefully submit, but that didn't stop God's plan. God will work through you and around you, until you get it: I have nothing to offer (poverty of spirit), I'm a mess (mourning), and I need you Lord to guide me (meekness). 

We have to be open to God will and plan...but how?! The fruit of the Spirit: peace. Scripture says that God give us peace that surpasses understanding.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:7

"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. - John 14:27

This is a peculiar kind of peace. It is an illogical sort of peace. It's supernatural, because of it's source: it's the peace of God. That kind of peace will take the fight out of you. But it won't deflate you. This doesn't mean you lay down and die. But you do become very still...very still in trusting God, waiting for His movement, trusting His movement.

He says, "Be still, and know that I am God... - Psalm 46:10

*there may be a part 2 to this concerning our fights with people...I'm not sure.