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Gollum versus Smeagol. If you have ever seen Lord of the Rings, you know exactly what I am referring to when I write those three words. In case you don't know what I'm talking about, Gollum is a character in Lord of the Rings who used to be a respectable character (a hobbit, to be exact), but was transformed into a gaunt, grotesque creature because he obsessed over his desire for the Ring of Power. Gollum is a little startling when you first see him; his bulgy blue eyes, skeletal figure, and hauntingly raspy voice (that has been imitated by countless people) are a little freaky. But, the strangest aspect of this character is his habit of talking to himself. He even refers to himself as "us" when he talks to other characters in the movie. Some interesting scenes in the movie involve Gollum arguing with his other half, known as "Smeagol", since that was his name back when he used to be a normal hobbit. As this character tries to fight the conflict between his two halves, the opinions of Smeagol and Gollum start to get very polarized. Smeagol is merciful and kind; his voice is even softer and less harsh. Gollum is loud, cruel, and relentlessly ferocious.
When my friends and I watch these scenes, we usually end up laughing; Gollum's dueling personalities are very amusing to see. But yet there's a slightly eerie sense to these scenes; they are too close to home. Although we don't yell at ourselves on a regular basis, every single human being faces the same battle as Gollum: the duel between the right and wrong.
Think about it. When you are faced with a decision that puts your human will against what you know is right, doesn't Gollum's situation seem a little more realistic? Here, let me put it into perspective if you still don't quite get what I mean...
Gollum: That 800-calorie-per-crum chocolate cake looks delicious. I'm going to have a HUGE piece of it.
Smeagol: But, I've already had lots of junk food today; this isn't good for me.
Gollum: I've eaten so many other trashy things; this one little slice won't make much of a difference
Smeagol: Little slice?! Look at the size of that thing!
Gollum: But, everyone else around me has eaten just as much food as me and they're all getting cake.
Or this...
Smeagol: My alarm clock just went off! It's time for me to get up and read my Bible
Gollum: But, I'm up fifteen minutes earlier than I'm supposed to wake up. I can sleep in!
Smeagol: I set it fifteen minutes earlier so I could get up and do my devotions...
Gollum: I can just do it tonight. I'm too tired to concentrate now anyway.
Smeagol: I actually said that yesterday, and I still didn't do my devotions that evening; I stayed up late finishing homework instead
Gollum: YES! YES! I did stay up late, PRECIOUS! That is why I need more sleep!
Or this...
Gollum: I AM GOING OUT WITH HIM
Smeagol: But I shouldn't because he has such a bad reputation. And I know perfectly well that he will try to push me further than I should go.
Gollum: I am strong. I can stop him if he tries. I can just go have a good time!
Smeagol: I know perfectly well I won't stand up to him if he tries to push me forward physically; this is a weakness for me.
Gollum: If I don't go, he won't like me anymore.
See what I mean? Gollum is a great representation of the internal arguments we face every day.
But, what do we do about the voices? How do we know which one is which?
Well, I found an excellent analysis of this on the magical World Wide Web that I want to share with you guys:
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To be even more specific, there is a verse that describes God's thoughts:
"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
Philippians 4:8
I read an awesome book called "Battlefield of the Mind for Teens" by Joyce Meyer, and she actually instructs to measure each of your thoughts against these items to see if they are Godly thoughts. If the thought doesn't pass all of the criteria, then the thought is not of God. Let me show you what this means; let's take Gollum vs. Smeagol Example #2 and analyze it against all of these different criteria.
1. True- Well, it's TRUE that you're tired, so this one can pass.
2. Noble- It's NOBLE to sleep and get rest, so sure, if you stretch this one, you can pass it.
3. Right- Is it RIGHT for you to skip your devotionals? Is it? This is when things start to get iffy.
4. Pure- This is irrelevant, so, pass.
5. Lovely- Is it LOVELY to choose sleep over honoring God? Not so much...
6. Admirable- Your situation pretty much fails this. As a Christian, there is nothing admirable about skipping devotions.
7. Excellent- Laziness is not excellent
8. Praiseworthy- It's not praiseworthy either.
So, the verdict says, the RIGHT choice is to wake up and do the devotions. It's a pretty useful tactic, isn't it?
But after you do all of this analyzation, what do you do? Why should you pick the correct thing?
I often wonder this when I'm in a situation; the wrong thing seems so wonderful and exciting that I have no intention of doing the right thing.
Well, as a Christ-follower, we've been given a commandment:
"Then he said to them all: 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.'" Luke 9:23
Yes, you've probably heard that command before. But, to be painfully honest, that command always freaked me out. I mean really, it bring up a type of paranoia in me, making me feel as if there's nothing fun about life anymore, since I always have to choose the hard thing.
Truly, this isn't actually the case. Although it's true that sometimes, we must make difficult decisions, God still lives in us, so there are so many times that our will lines up with His! Philippians 2:13 says it well, "for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose."
So, life isn't all about choosing what you don't like to do just so you can "follow Christ", it's about analyzing the voices, realizing what God and His word tell you is right, and choosing to do it.
However, because sin is still engrained into our nature, we will always have to make difficult decisions that involve choosing God's will over ours in a painful way. My pastor has a good analogy for this process of choosing to do the right thing when it's difficult. He says that in the moment it will feel like a "death" because making the right decision will kill a dream or a desire. But in the end, the faith growth and avoidance of problems that comes with doing the right thing is immeasurably better than the guilt and regret that come with doing the wrong thing.
So, DON'T be like Gollum and end up biting a hobbit's finger off and diving into fire in search of your desires; choose to be Smeagol, and you'll be glad you did.
