Self-Preservation

"It came about when he came near to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, 'See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman; and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, "This is his wife"; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may live on account of you.'" -Genesis 12.11-13

Here we see one of the classic traits of humanity, that of self-preservation. What is it about life that we cling so desperately to it, even at the expense of others? Here Abram travels to yet another foreign land in order to escape famine in the land God has promised him. But forgetting the promises God has just made him, he fears for his life because his wife was a beautiful woman. And so to save his own skin he asks her to lie, and in that puts her at risk. When we seek to save ourselves, others are put at unnecessary risk.

And yet how many times have we done this as men? In an attempt to save a job, we lie and throw someone else under the bus. In an attempt to save face, we ask someone else to jeopardize their own reputation. We sacrifice morals and values, just to try and save something. We risk more than we have to gain.

Near the end of Kingdom of Heaven Saladin has laid siege to Jerusalem unsuccessfully, and is ready to discuss surrender. The Bishop, Patriarch of Jerusalem, says to Balian, "Convert to Islam... repent later!" He is a coward of a man, who seeks only to preserve his life. Earlier he tries to convince Balian to flee the city with the other nobles, abandoning the people. This is the way of the coward. Self-preservation is a cowardly act.

A man does not seek to save and preserve his own life, as the Bishop, or Abram do. A man chooses as Balian did, to stand in defense of the helpless, no matter the cost to him. He is not afraid of death if it means saving the lives of others. A man puts his own life at risk before the life of anyone else. He takes the risks, and embraces the consequences of his actions and choices.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor