Our failure and struggles

I only recently watched the acclaimed TV series, The Night Manager, starring Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie. Hugh Laurie has been a long time favourite, while Tom Hiddleston came to my attention more recently through the Marvel movies that gripped quite a lot of us. Both actors didn’t fail to deliver and so I did something that I rarely do, which is watch interviews that actors give. Hugh Laurie wouldn’t disappoint – as I had heard him speak before and he was indeed brilliant. Tom Hiddleston held his own too. I was struck by something that Tom Hiddleston said about his character, Jonathan Pine, in The Night Manager. He said that there was something romantic about Jonathan Pine because he does something which most of us can’t do, which is to surrender his identity for something that he feels is morally right. Hiddleston went on to say that Pine was at root a good man by virtue of his choice.

At first glance, there is perhaps nothing remarkable about what Tom Hiddleston said about Jonathan Pine. Yet, when you think on it a little more, we cheered Jonathan Pine for bringing down Richard Roper, the baddie played remarkably well by Hugh Laurie. Roper is called ‘the worst man in the world’ early in the series. He is a billionaire philanthropist who admits that he only does good because it profits him. He uses philanthropy as a cover for his wrongful presence in an army camp. He has no qualms about the profit he’s making from weapons that destroy humanity. He’s charming and to his friends and loved ones, even caring. And then there’s Jonathan Pine. It’s easy to like Pine. He’s good looking and polished. He goes out to catch Roper and does put himself in harm’s way. Pine’s hatred of Roper starts when the first woman he covets in the series is killed (by Roper, the baddie). While undercover, he covets Roper’s girlfriend. This is why, what Tom Hiddleston said about Jonathan Pine struck me. Roper uses good to cover evil. But – Pine did the same! He used good (his putting himself in danger to capture a dangerous man) to do evil (coveting the baddie’s girlfriend)! Ultimately, at the core, there is no difference between the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ man. Both were rotten at the core.

It made me think about the reality that the Bible paints about all men. Romans 3: 10 – 12 says: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.’ We hear this ring out loud and clear again in Romans 3: 23: ‘…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,…’ and in many other verses (Matthew 15: 19; Mark 7: 21-22; 1 John 1: 8; Job 15: 14; Jeremiah 17: 9, etc.). There are countless verses saying the exact same thing and ultimately spell out the fact that our good deeds are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64: 6). It is a mind-blowing truth that the Bible doesn’t shy away from. It is hard to take. This is the reality of who we are. Not all of us will be in the same position of Jonathan Pine, where we need to take on such dangerous acts to bring down evil. However, like Jonathan Pine, we are tainted – our good is just a cover of the evil within. It is simply very hard to accept this.

The other thing that Hiddleston said about Jonathan Pine that stuck out for me was that Pine surrendered his identity for what he felt was morally right to do. This is stunning! He felt that Richard Roper was so wrong and needed to be brought down that he was willing to surrender who he was in his relatively comfortable life, to go after this man. He even kills a man to protect his new identity. It wasn’t beyond him morally to covet Roper’s lady friend. That question never even crops up, because Richard Roper is such a bad guy! It makes me think about our identity according to the Bible. The Bible says that those of us who believe in Christ, are in Him. John 1: 12 says: ‘But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.’ In 1 Corinthians 6: 17, it says: ‘But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.’ There are many other verses that talk about this and a few of these are: Colossians 2: 9-10; 1 Corinthians 12: 27; 1 Peter 2: 9; Galatians 3: 27 – 28; Colossians 3: 1-3. We are in Christ, if we believe in Him. Yet, how often do we struggle to surrender? Perhaps there is death involved. Jonathan Pine killed a man to protect his new identity. Maybe we need to kill our old selves to protect our new selves. We wouldn’t be acting on a pure feeling of what is morally right to do, if we put to death our old selves. No. In fact, we would be acting on the ultimate reality if we did put to death our old selves and whatever is earthly within us, the reality being that we have been raised in Christ (Colossians 3: 5 – 11). We would be acting on the reality of every spiritual blessing being granted to us in Christ (Ephesians 1: 3).

Let me be clear about what I am saying here. These are truths that we know but it is often difficult to live them out. It is difficult to live knowing that we are at the core evil. It is indeed very tough trying to put to death what we don’t always see as evil. This is a difficult struggle. Don’t be fooled. It is not as if the confession of faith in our Lord Jesus, immediately whisks us off into the land of freedom from sin. If only that were the case, then we wouldn’t have such a tough walk ahead of us. Yet Jesus, was tempted like you and me. He obviously passed, where you and I fail. The benchmark of walking exactly like Him while He was on earth is way too high. We are doomed to failure. There is no way anyone will succeed here. However, it is precisely this sure failure that needs to keep reminding us that we have no other hope but to hold on to Jesus and to cling to His promises of deliverance. It isn’t easy when we are facing temptation, periods of dryness or of suffering (for various reasons). It is when we are brought down to our knees and it is also when we often fail. When we are convicted by the Spirit of our failings at these times, we will feel crushed, if we forget to keep looking at the cross. Jesus took on that failing for you and me because He knew we wouldn’t be able to get it right. He knew that if we lied from insecurity, it would probably be something we struggle with for our entire lives. He knew that if we had addictions (whether to porn, entertainment, alcohol, drugs, etc.), it would be a lifetime battle overcoming them. He knew that if we were beaten, depressed, bitter or angry with rejection or whatever circumstances we find ourselves in, it would take our whole lives to find that acceptance in Him. It is not as if we can stop ourselves as easily as we turn off a switch. If only, it was that simple. I think, that when we are struggling, we should take comfort, for the Spirit and the flesh are against each other. Galatians 5: 17 reminds us of this: ‘For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.’ If we are struggling, we shouldn’t be discouraged by those who don’t seem to struggle at all. Indeed, we should not! Remember too that the great apostle Paul himself, struggled to understand his own actions and found it difficult to do what he wanted to do but did what he didn’t want to (Romans 7: 13 – 25). Like him, struggle – and be not ashamed of your struggle. Thank God for it, for through Christ, there is no more condemnation for those in Him and the Spirit has set you free (Romans 8: 1-4).

So, let us encourage one another in our walks by enabling each other to be honest about our struggles. Let us remember that this is the holy war that is waged by the Spirit against the flesh and it is part of the refining process that leads us to Christlikeness. God didn’t promise us a pain-free journey there. On the contrary, He states clearly that we will suffer as we live our lives that are marked by grace.