Invictus
sends chills over my skin. Some ask,
“shouldn’t Jesus be the captain of my soul?”
so for the purposes of enjoying the poem call Jesus an admiral. Others take offense that the poem appeals to
nameless gods. I submit that a poem does
not have to be Christian in order to be true. I find that Paul agrees (Acts 17:28).
Mastering oneself is not just a poetic virtue. It is an essential human struggle. It is also a fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5. The word Paul uses for self-control is egkrates,
a word which here means “to hold oneself in” or “to master self.” How cool that a fruit of submitting to God’s
Spirit is to finally learn to control oneself.
Our natural state is not one of being in control, but one of slavery to
impulses and emotions. Emotions and
impulses are fine things to be sure, but I’d rather them be my servants than my
masters.
Fair fairing, friend.
