A perfect
description of chivalrous behavior is found in Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur
where Sir Ector describes Lancelot, who has just died, as “a man meek in the
hall with women and as the sternest of knights in battle.” He was both
humble and fierce—and he knew when to be which. Blending and integrating
strength and honor, a warrior’s spirit with humility, was the Code that
governed the Knight’s behavior on the battlefield and “in the hall with women.”
When I was in Junior High school,
if two boys got into a fight, they’d be sent to Coach Reams who would lay down
a mat, put 16 oz gloves on them and tell them to have at it. After around 3
minutes, the boys found it difficult to even raise their hands above their
waists. And, wouldn’t you know it, after knocking each other around for a few
minutes, they always became fast friends. This was how we handled “conflict
resolution,” back in the day. Today, such boys would be force fed Adderall.
My dad, a Baptist minister, told me
if some asinine imbecile (one of his favorite phrases) started bullying and
taunting me, I was to wait for him after school, walk up to him and demand he
back off. If he chose to keep at it, I was to hit him as hard as I could in the
solar plexus, then a forearm to the nose—and he would stand with me, if I got into
trouble. “Even if you get your butt kicked, you will keep your self-respect and
earn the respect of others. If you start a fight, you’ll answer to me. If some
guy starts a fight with you and you don’t fight back, you will also answer to
me.” The second, “you’ll answer to me,” sounded more ominous than the prospect
of being whacked upside the head in a fight. Dad was true to his word and
always backed me up.
Most of the guys I grew up with
were budding young warriors who needed to be taught how to be “meek in the
Hall.” Today, however, it seems to me that many “boys” need to learn how to be
warriors. Even their “meekness” or “humility” is actually a mask hiding a
plethora of fears: fear of inadequacy, fear of the politically-correct police
and the opinion of others in general, fear of getting their noses bloodied,
fear of failure, and fear of taking a stand, alone. I find myself constantly
wanting to grab these “boys” by the shoulders and yell at them: MAN UP!
Our nation is engaged in life-and-death
battles over cultural issues that are evidences of deeper spiritual conflicts.
Our enemies are fighting to win—that’s what true warriors do. These battles in
the Arena of Ideas and Ideals are not going to be won by men and women who think
meekness requires that they compromise their beliefs, principles, values, and
honor, and surrender the Arena to the enemy. The US Marine motto “Semper Fidelis,” (Always Faithful) is
the mindset that leads to victory, not “Please, like me.”
Meekness
is a warrior’s spirit governed and informed by love for God and humility before
Him. Moses was referred to as the meekest man on earth. Do you think an invertebrate
could have led over one million Israelites (600,000 men) across the desert to
the Promise Land, a 40-year journey? And never forget that “meek and mild” Jesus
took up a whip and chased the moneychangers out of the Temple who were taking
advantage of foreigners who had come to worship and, thereby, desecrating his
Father’s house.
CS Lewis wrote about the need for
integrating a warrior’s spirit with meekness in his essay, The Necessity of Chivalry:
(The Arthurian
Knight’s Code of Chivalry) It taught
humility and forbearance to the great warrior because everyone knew by experience
how much he usually needed that lesson. It demanded valor of the urbane and
modest man because everyone knew that he was likely to be a milksop.
If we cannot produce Lancelots, humanity falls into two sections—those who can deal in blood and iron but cannot be “meek in hall,” and those who are “meek in hall” but useless in battle…. The man who combines both characters—the knight—is a work not of nature but of art; of that art which has human beings, instead of canvas or marble, for its medium.
“Warrior” is to be part of your
life’s work of art. Evil in every form is to be resisted and engaged in battle,
with victory, no matter how long it takes, the only acceptable outcome. Cruelty
is not to be treated as a trifle. People in distress are to be defended and comforted.
Bullies are to be confronted. Liberty, Justice, Truth, Goodness, and Beauty are
to be defended and honored. And none of this is to be done with a view to
self-aggrandizement. This is the Code of Chivalry of any God honoring and
self-respecting person worthy of sitting at the King of the Universe’s Round
Table.
Copyright, Monte E Wilson, 2013
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