Fly you fools!

It was brought to my attention that Gandalf the Wizard in Lord of the Rings and when he shows up in the Hobbit film has a habit of telling his companions to either fight or run! Whether you are a fan of the Lord of Rings, or not, or whether you have seen the films or read the books, you are likely to have heard the famous Gandalf quote ‘Fly you fools!’.

Gandalf the grey is hanging off the edge of a rock in an underground cavern, having confronted a somewhat big, and fiery visitor, and instructs the fellowship to get out of the cave as soon as they can - or sooner! This visitor was out of this world and needed a Wizard to handle it and, although the company were reluctant to leave their good friend at first, they did run at pace in the end.

In the goblin tunnels, when Gandalf joined Thorin’s gang - who were travelling through on their way to the Lonely Mountains in the Hobbit - Gandalf instructed the group to fight. But, once the Goblin King was slain, Gandalf re-instructed Bilbo and the Dwarves and, as a matter of urgency, told them all to run as the numbers of goblins increased.

At Osgiliath, the old capital of Gondor, the Steward who, it transpires, is not in his right mind, orders the soldiers to surrender, to run, because he thought they were doomed. However, Gandalf overruled, and shouted to all the warriors of Gondor to fight.

In life, there are times when we need to fight – stand up for ourselves or others, or protect ourselves and others, confronting situations and people to bring about justice or to simply do the right thing. And there are times we need to run, or walk, away; where we need to back down, let things go, be the bigger person.

The Book of Ecclesiastes lists a time for everything and includes a time for war and a time for peace (Ecclesiastes 3:8). And God gave instructions to his people in the Old Testament to go to battle and sometimes not. Even Jesus showed us that there is a time to fight and a time to not to and to leave. Jesus confronted the religious leaders on many occasions and slipped away from crowds and people intent on harming him on more than one occasion.

Jesus knew, and still knows, the best course of action in every given situation, and he can help us to make the right call in our own lives, just like Gandalf made the right call for the characters in Lord of the Rings.

There is a time to fight, so put on the armour of God:

‘Put on all of God’s armour so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armour so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armour of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And there is a time to flee; flee from sin, like Joseph did in Genesis 39, when Potiphar’s wife began to look at him lustfully. She kept putting pressure on Joseph every day, but he refused to sin, and he kept out of her way as much as possible. One day, Potiphar’s wife grabbed him by his cloak, demanding she pay attention to her, so Joseph tore himself away and ran from the house.

Make the right call!

Jo