Merlin did not allow a questionable past to stand in the way of his future. He was true to the once and future King. How is it then that those of less shameful heritages have allowed them to become a stumbling block? Why is it that the sons of the Devil sometimes repent and the sons of bitches won't? Merlin was the King's man and he went to war for his sovereign. The rest are rebels and go to war with their King.
"A fight, by its very nature, is not delicate. This is true in spiritual warfare, and it is also true in the resultant political conflict. But at the same time, we must make and maintain an important distinction. There is always a great difference between a warrior and a thug. A knight and a terrorist both kill, and they both kill for political ends. But a vast distance still separates them." —Douglas Wilson, Warriors Not Thugs
Violence is not anathema, but pacifism is. There are few things more verboten than principled non-violence. Antithesis is inescapable. You cannot outmaneuver it by refusing to fight. The fight will find you.
Matthew 11:12
From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
The kingdom is not a cake walk. There is nothing easy or passive about it. It is living and active. It is a fight. Passive-aggression is not aggressive enough. It is effeminate and impotent.
"Every baptized churchman is by his profession a soldier of Jesus Christ, and is pledged to fight under His banner against sin, the world and the devil... Christian warfare is a great reality and a subject of vast importance. It is not a matter like church government and ceremonial, about which men may differ, and yet reach heaven at last. Necessity is laid upon us. We must fight. There are no promises in the Lord Jesus Christ’s epistles to the seven churches, except to those who 'overcome.' Where there is grace there will be conflict. The believer is a soldier. There is no holiness without a warfare. Saved souls will always be found to have fought a fight.
It is a fight of absolute necessity. Let us not think that in this war we can remain neutral and sit still. Such a line of action may be possible in the strife of nations, but it is utterly impossible in that conflict which concerns the soul. The boasted policy of non–interference, the 'masterly inactivity' which pleases so many statesmen, the plan of keeping quiet and letting things alone—all this will never do in the Christian warfare. Here at any rate no one can escape serving under the plea that he is 'a man of peace.' To be at peace with the world, the flesh and the devil, is to be at enmity with God and in the broad way that leads to destruction. We have no choice or option. We must either fight or be lost." — J.C. Ryle, Holiness
If you do not fight, you cannot win. If you will not fight, you will be defeated by those that will.
“The full value of this life can only be got by fighting; the violent take it by storm. And if we have accepted everything we have missed something – war. This life of ours is a very enjoyable fight, but a very miserable truce.” — G.K. Chesterton
Compromise is for cowards. Standing for something and fighting for it are the élan vital. The essence of life is fighting to stay alive and for what's worth living for.
"Some men fight because they love fighting. Others fight because they love what they are defending. With the former, we find malice and cruelty. With the latter, the attitude is chivalric. But chivalry in conflict is not pacifism, and it is not weak sisterism. The Christian faith does not require us to send off Little Bo Peep to slay the dragon. At the same time, the need for fighters does not ever justify thuggery, and the fact that Christian gentlemen must sometimes fight should not keep them from hitting hard. But how they hit is important." —Douglas Wilson, Warriors Not Thugs
Sometimes you must hit and when you do, it must be as hard as you can. If you never hit, you will miss out on good works which God prepared beforehand that you should fight int hem. If you never hit hard, you will miss out on the peace of having decided to try to win. You may lose, but you hit like you're trying to win and there is a peace in that which only a violent resolve can produce.
"Nine times out of ten, the coarse word is the word that condemns an evil and the refined word the word that excuses it." — G. K. Chesterton
Some are more offended by the term "sons of bitches" than they are by actual sons of the Devil. They attempt to work things out with snakes while throwing shade at those willing to catch Hell as they stomp on them.
"Do not give fair names to foul sins; call them what you will, they will smell no sweeter." — Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Morning and Evening
Do not faint at foul words. The wicked call good evil which means if you are good, you are going to be called some names. And the more the merrier. Better to be called a bastard by those who reject our Father in Heaven than to be called blessed by those who are cursed by God.
"Soft teaching produces hard hearts and hard teaching produces soft hearts." — Jim Wilson
This may come as a tough pill to swallow, but a tough pill that settles the stomach is better than a soft one that leaves you nauseous. Tough talk stiffens spines. Sweet nothings come to nothing.
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