“I come too far, Irish, I can’t give up.”
— Muse (played by Barkhad Abdi) in Captain Phillips (2013)
FAMILIAR EXPERIENCES are something we have familiarity with in life. One of
these experiences is venturing into things – things that are wrong – for too
long. Too long generally means beyond the point of no return. It reminds me of
Space Shuttle launches – the familiar catch cry: “negative return” – this is
the moment, post-launch, at almost precisely the 4-minute mark, as the shuttle
is doing 5,000 miles per hour, when the crew must acknowledge they cannot
return to the Kennedy Space Center.
The quote above, from the motion picture, Captain Phillips, casts the pirate leader, Muse, in the light
of desperate man who has glimpses of reasonability. When Captain Phillips tells
him there is no use in continuing, Muse reveals his own plight – he has gone
beyond the point of no return. The Somali pirate has his bosses to satisfy.
Even though he’s hijacked a cache of $6 million last year, he’s still doing the
desperate work of crime to satisfy his warlord boss, Garaad.
We, like Muse, sometimes find we have come too far; and we can’t give up.
But it is better to walk away from some things having lost than go all the way
and lose everything!
Four Strategies for
Backing Up and Getting Out of Trouble
1. Be Direct: sometimes God’s
revelation of our circumstance gives us the courage that goes with his
provision to be direct, and we back out in the plainest of senses. Remember to
be bold and to keep turning back and God’s blessing will rest upon you.
2. Negotiate: take the time to plan to
negotiate with all the resources and knowledge you have at your disposal. It’s
amazing how much God is prepared to equip us with when we are heading in the
direction of his will.
3. Move Away With Conviction: without
telling anyone, and without advising in any way, if the thing you are doing is
dark, move away from it with conviction, and, if possible, cover your tracks
for your own self-protection.
4. Lie! Well, we are always
supposed to tell the truth, aren’t we? Yes, but as a last resort, to save
ourselves or others we must reverse the flow of the regression into something
dark. It is better to lie and go toward God than tell the truth and keep moving
in the path of that freight train coming your way.
***
Getting ourselves in over our heads is a mistake, but worse than that is
persisting to the point of losing everything. It is better to back out and lose
what might be gained than go all the way and lose everything.
© 2013 S. J. Wickham.
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