Star Wars.
I know it seems silly to most that a late 30 year old still references lessons learned from being a Star Wars geek my whole life. However, as a child not raised in church, The Force was the closest thing to a religion for me.
Although I was not raised in church, I was exposed to the Word at an early age. By the grace and blessings of God, what little I was exposed to stuck with me and through some life experiences, I always knew that God was there, watching over me.
As ridiculous as it seems, I learned a lot of life lessons from Star Wars. Lessons that I know now, I would have learned regardless through my salvation and spiritual maturity. Even so, I still find the lessons I learned by watching Star Wars applicable in everyday life. Allow me to expound:
On people who challenge my walk as a Christian:
“I find your lack of faith disturbing.” – Darth Vader
On choosing who to associate with:
“Who’s the more foolish; the fool, or the fool who follows him?” – Obi-Wan Kenobi
On trying to do my will instead of God’s:
“That… is why you fail.” – Master Yoda
On being prepared and rushing into things:
Ready are you? What know you of ready? For eight hundred years have I trained Jedi. My own counsel will I keep on who is to be trained. A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind. This one, a long time have I watched. All his life has he looked away… to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. On what he was doing.” – Master Yoda
On politics and government:
“You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. …We must be cautious.” – Obi-Wan Kenobi
“What if the democracy we thought we were serving no longer exists, and the Republic has become the very evil we’ve been fighting to destroy?” – Queen Amidala
“The day we stop believing democracy can work is the day we lose it.”
On being proud of who I am and of my name:
“…You’ve failed, your highness. I am a Jedi, like my father before me.” – Luke Skywalker
On determination:
“No! Try not. Do… or do not. There is no try.” – Master Yoda
“I wasn’t strong enough, but I promise I won’t fail again.” – Luke Skywalker
On the passing of loved ones and loss:
Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force. Mourn them do not. Miss them do not. Attachment leads to jealousy. The shadow of greed that is. Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.” – Master Yoda
“The fear of loss is a path to the Dark Side.” – Master Yoda
On standing for something that is bigger than me:
“You can’t win, Darth. Strike me down, and I will become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.” – Obi-Wan Kenobi
On doing the right thing no matter how unpopular :
“Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.” – Master Yoda
“I sense great fear in you, Skywalker. You have hate… you have anger… but you don’t use them.” – Count Dooku
On recognizing peoples true intentions:
“Only a Sith Lord deals in absolutes.” – Obi-Wan Kenobi
“To truly understand something, one must study all its aspects…not just the dogmatic narrow view of the Jedi” – Emperor Palpatine
On how things could be if we obeyed Jesus’ commandment to love one another:
“The force is an energy field created by all living things, it surrounds us, it penetrates us, it binds the galaxy together.” – Master Yoda
On staying true to my faith:
“Anger, fear, aggression… the dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.” – Master Yoda
“Many of the truths we cling to depend greatly upon our own point of view.” – Obi-Wan Kenobi
On not putting too much faith in myself:
“Your overconfidence is your weakness” – Luke Skywalker
“Your arrogance blinds you” – Emperor Palpatine
“I want more… and I know I shouldn’t.” – Anakin Skywalker
“All mentors have a way of seeing more of our faults than we would like. It’s the only way we grow.” – Queen Amidala
On dealing with people and society:
“There is no civility, only politics.” – Chancellor Palpatine
“All who gain power are afraid to lose it, even the Jedi.” – Chancellor Palpatine
“Wars not make one great.” – Master Yoda
“The ability to speak does not make you intelligent.” – Qui-Gon Jinn
On Life in general:
“Your eyes can deceive you, don’t trust them.”
“Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is.”
“Pass on what you have learned.”
“Your insight serves you well.”
“Search your feelings”
“Let go of your hate.”
“Don’t center on your anxieties.”
“Keep your concentration here and now, where it belongs.”
“Now, be brave and don’t look back.”
“Do not assume anything. Clear, your mind must be.”
“To be angry is to be human.”
“I know I’m better than this.”
“Much to learn, you still have.”
“Concentrate on the moment.”
“Compassion, which I would define as unconditional love, is essential…”
“Trust your instincts”
“Sometimes we must do what is requested of us.”
“You will know when you are calm, at peace, passive.”
“In a dark place we find ourselves… a little more knowledge might light our way.”
“Do what must be done.”
“Sometimes there are things no one can fix.”
…and my personal favorite:
“Feel, don’t think”, trust your instincts and intuition!
I think we could all benefit from knowledge of the force! We should all…Be Love. Be Kind. Life is too short, y’all!
Now, go watch a Star Wars marathon and May the Force be with each and every one of you!
The Unsilent Majority 