The sexiness of winning the battle of good versus evil
Every once in a while I’ll get a question from a non-believer asking me a question related to whether or not my life is “boring” because, as a Christian, it has to be lived on the “straight and narrow.” I secretly smile when I hear questions like this – questions that, most of the time, are asked in a sincerely curious way, because I know there is nothing “boring” about Christianity, and also because I know that Christian life, much like secular life, means anything but having to stay on the “straight and narrow.” In other words, my answer to those who ask about my life as a Christian is that we can have just as much fun as a non-believer, provided we don’t carry the fun to excess and provided it’s not the type of “fun” that goes against the word of God.
That isn’t to say, of course, that Christians are perfect. In fact, we’re not – there is only one perfect being in this world, and none us us are that being. We drink beers, we eat too much, we read magazines or books or watch movies that don’t exactly come close to promoting a Christian lifestyle, we envy what others have, we … well, you get the point.
It’s a constant battle, trying to live in the image of God without straying off course. In fact, this also applies to non-believers who nevertheless have the same strong sense of right and wrong that believers do (I know there are many of you out there). They, too, struggle to win the battle of good versus evil. We – believers and non-alike – are constantly being tested. Fortunately, most of the time – if we’re strong enough in our faith or beliefs, we eventually win those battles, whether they are short ones or ones that happen over time.
Occasionally, I will watch movies and read books with what some would call “dark themes.” Sometimes they’re about cults, the “underworld,” vampires, etc. It’s always fascinating to me how some of the “bad” characters in these books/movies have a streak of good in them deep down inside, and how they are constantly at war with “each side” of themselves. And then there are those characters that ‘follow’ the dark characters, who want to be like the dark characters but deep down inside their sense of right and wrong pulls and tugs at them to maintain their walk on the right side. And sometimes they don’t always heed their own warnings. But most of the time, even for the ones who do take that walk on the wildside, they end up snapping out of it, redeeming themselves in some way.
But for those who – in books, movies and in real life – in the end resist the temptation to go the way of the dark character and for the dark characters who lose their fight over the impulse to “go good,” wow – it’s really a sight to see. It’s sexy, in fact, to fight a war against evil – and win. It takes a lot of inner strength to win those wars, and winning them – to me – gives me a great sense of accomplishment, and makes me feel closer to God. To know that I can be tempted and at the same time to know that more often than not I will not cross the line to the other side (even though my foot wobbles in that direction every now and again), a line that is hard to find once you turn back around to look for it – it’s a feeling that is pretty close to being out of this world. I am strong. Hear me roar! Same same for those times when you do step over the temptation line, but end up fighting your way back to the good side.
Strength in and of itself is meaningless unless you know how to utilize it for good, whether it’s physical, mental, emotional, spiritual or some combination of two or more or all. The book I’m working on deals with this issue – makes for interesting character development 
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