As we began studying the book of Revelations, my professor pointed out a theme present in this book. This theme is that Satan is always the one who brings the war. However, Satan may win a few battles, but God wins ALL wars. This is not only a message of peace, but also of empowerment. We get to choose who's side of the war we are on, but luckily this is made easier because we already know the outcome. Elder Holland said:
“The future of this world has long been declared; the final outcome between good and evil is already known. There is absolutely no question as to who wins because the victory has already been posted on the scoreboard. The only really strange thing in all of this is that we are still down here on the field trying to decide which team's jersey we want to wear!”
Understanding that every battle is not won, allows us to be encouraged to stay close to God. We do not have to win every battle, we just have to win the war. Recently, a person I barely knew, was quite rude to me. Without being courteous enough talk to me face to face, she posted a very inconsiderate and harsh message on the door of my office. I had hardly spoken a word to her, however she treated me as ignorant, selfish, and incompetent. I was completely astonished. My first reaction was to write an angry email, or knock on her door and give her a piece of my mind (I know this does not seem like me, but I can be quite feisty in my mind ;)). As I ran through scenarios in my mind of what I would say and how she would realize how immature and selfish SHE was being, I realized I did not want to bring on a war. Sure, I could reason that she had started it. But I knew that I had control over how much contention I was going to allow this little subject to bring. Once I realized the control I had over the situation, I surprisingly felt like I had won a battle. I don't think it was necessarily the battle against this person (she probably was unaware of how hurtful her blunt message was), but I believe it was against my own pride and the temptation to retaliate. I had overcome the urge to stir up contention, and I finally felt at peace about the entire situation.
From this experience I was reminded of 3 Nephi 11:29: "For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another." Sometimes winning our own battles, comes from ignoring the temptation to fight.
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