In Play At Little Games

These are the final lines of a poem written in 1938 by Robert D Abrahams. He is reflecting on wars around the world whilst he and his wife, safe at home,  drive to a game of bridge:

Tonight Shanghai is burning,
And we are dying too.
What bomb more surely mortal
Than death inside of you?

For some men die by shrapnel,
And some go down in flames,
But most men perish inch by inch,
In play at little games.

The words are a challenge to every one of us. Will we allow ourselves to die inch by inch? Or will we determine to live for a cause? Will we allow others to play little games with our lives? Or will we ignore the fear of shrapnel and fight?

May every one of us reading these words determine to live; and to live for something great, something lasting, something meaningful.

Flawed. Frail. Fanatical.

I’m reading a fascinating book on the life of Larry Norman, the pioneer of Christian rock music. He comes over as flawed and frail – but at the same time as fascinating and almost fanatical. His passion for Christ shines through even the most troubling of times. He knew his God and wanted more than anything to tell others about Christ in the way he knew best – through his music. His albums were many but for me, the standout is Only Visiting This Planet. There’s not a weak track in sight and a challenge to the listener in every verse.

I’m also listening to the news today, on the death of Winnie Mandela. Another flawed, frail, fanatic. She faced prison and death threats on a daily basis. But unlike her husband, she seemed unable to forgive, nor to manage retribution in the right way. Flawed. Frail. Fanatical.

These words are not the worst labels to hang around our lives. You can make a case for the apostle Peter being flawed, frail and fanatical too. His very public failures are reflected later in a passion for Christ that led to martyrdom.

The first two words reflect all of us if we’re honest. The last one gets more of a bad press. Maybe I should use ‘tenacious’ or ‘strong minded’ instead. But my prayer is that although I see my flaws and frailties all too well, I may also be known as someone who is absolutely fanatical about his faith in Christ.