Manly Men

     I despise arm wrestling with a burning passion.  In very few instances, I do come on top, but for a great majority of the time, the result isn't too exciting.  While engaging in this so-called epitome of masculinity, I lock my hands with the opponent's hands.  The conflict starts off steady, but in less than a couple of seconds, my hand is inches from hitting the table.  The funny thing is, I stay in this "verge of losing position" for a great long time.  For whatever inexplicable reason, the opponent cannot simply just finish me off.  I have to be extremely exhausted and ready to just give up for me to completely lose.  When I do finally lose, I don't really see it as a loss, because I put in everything I have to stay afloat and give that hand a fighting chance to possibly win.  I see it as a fact that I've persevered; I've fought a good fight.

Life is tough.

     I thought to myself in such an instance.  Isn't this a spiritual thing too?  In a way, I believe it is.  The adversary has so many resources and is incredibly strong in diverting us toward the wrong path-- the path to sin and iniquity.  We are only human, fallible to many things.  Satan is a bodiless spirit who has known the world since the era of Adam and Eve.  As we were born on the Earth, we were weak and vulnerable.  Sad to say, we still are.  Slowly, though, we are able to build experience to thwart a good lot of the things that Satan throws at us.  However, with millennia-old experience versus a less than a century's worth of experience, it's no real contest on who will trump the other.


     We remain afloat in a very troubling world filled with demonic influence.  The adversary is plenty in number and definitely very, VERY strong.  Every day, we struggle to hold on our virtues, our faith, and our dignity.  We can magnify the strength of holding on, enduring to the end, through the choices we make and the path that we follow.  If we choose to be righteous and faithful, that hand will gain strength.  It will hold us for a little bit longer.  If we cannot be righteous until the end and if the adversary does take hold of us, eventually defeating us in sin, all is not lost.  You're going to be sore for quite some time, but remember that the reason why it's so sore is because the muscle on your arm is repairing itself and making itself stronger.  If treated right, with repentance and condition, the next time you're arm wrestling that person, you'll be a lot stronger than you were and with faith in a loving Heavenly Father, you may even triumph!

With His grace, we can breeze through the adversary

     No one likes an easy loser.  There's fun and also a lot of effort in a competitive matchup.  The fact that we hold on and endure faithfully shows the fact that we are not quitters.  Life is just that.  If we quit too early, there's really no point in living it.  If we give up against the opponent while we arm wrestle, there was no point in having challenged him in the first place.

     I strongly believe in the fact that we all live in a verge of losing state-- the adversary does all that he can to make us lose completely.  As pessimistic as that sounds, I also believe that we may be able to overcome that state.  With a strong and lasting testimony in Jesus Christ, understanding why He had died for us, we can have a friend's hand hold ours up and slam the adversary's hand on the other side of the table.  As frail and incomplete as we are, God isn't.  With His help, we can endure to the end.  The Lord can make us bear our [heavy] burdens with ease.  We just really need to submit to what He wants us to do.






     Oh, and one random life hack: when you're in an arm wrestle, bring your arm (and the other person's arm) closer toward your body.  Then put down the person's arm.  You'll have more momentum than the other guy and you'll be surprised how much of difference it'll make!