Fighting Dragons Alone (Part 2)

Last week I borrowed a dragon from the world of fairytales and wrote about some of the decisions we make that lead to us fighting dragons alone.  This is Part 2.  We will  look at the things that we do that cause others - friends, family and strangers - to find themselves alone with a dragon breathing down their neck and how we can respond differently, as a band of brothers.

Human creatures are social beings.  Unlike dragons, we like company.  In fact, we need company.  To be healthy, we need a village of people to surround us and to support us.  Most of us acknowledge this need within ourselves.  Yet, by some strange magic, we don’t readily acknowledge the same need in others.  We think that they all have people, that they have a village, that they have support.  We think that we are not needed.I have been in ministry and the People Business for over 30 years. Experience has taught me that:

• Everybody has problems they can’t deal with alone.
• Everybody needs a supportive village.
• Everybody needs to be a support to those around them.

Also, apart from my three decades of experience, study of the scripture has taught me that God has intentionally created us incomplete.

• To be complete we need God …
• To be complete we need other people …
• To be complete we need other people to need us ….

We are created in God’s image, which makes us relational in existence.  We have to give and we have to take.  This process, this dance, energizes our very being.  When we don’t fight dragons on behalf of other people, for whatever reason, we are not only weakening that person, we actually weaken ourselves and encourage dragons in our own life.  The bible is full of the bottom line : “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"  or  "Give and it shall be given unto you.”Here are three simple but effective and meaningful ways that you can help fight dragons for other people:

• Acknowledge people.  Reply timeously to an email from a colleague, comment or ‘like’ a Facebook message of a friend, return a phone call from an acquaintance, wave as you pass your neighbor.   Make sure people know that you see them and that you recognize their humanity and their need to be seen.
• Respond to people.  Ignoring people is cruel, ungodly and can have a crippling effect on them.  It is well known that children and teenagers will behave badly just to get attention – negative attention is better than none.  This hurt and subsequent bad behavior translates into adulthood too with awful consequences.  Respond to people, don’t ignore them and their needs.  Help a friend when they move house.  Offer to babysit for a young couple.  Be kind to an awkward teenager.  Accept a friend’s or even an acquaintance’s invitation.
• Include people.   God’s love includes all people.  So should ours. Elite membership to an inner gang is childish.  I cannot urge you enough to read this short talk by C.S. Lewis entitled 'The Inner Ring’.  It is outstanding and says it all.  We should all take heed.

When we  acknowledge and respond to people and include them, those around us will feel safe in the knowledge that they don’t have to fight dragons alone.  They have a village that includes us and, chances are, we will find them at our side when the dragons turn the heat up at our front door.