by Samuel Rainey
“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” ~ Genesis 1:27 (NIV)
When I was six, my favorite superhero was He-Man, the most powerful hero in the universe. I dreamed of being him. I would transform myself from the scrawny little kid, put my play-sword in the neck of my shirt on my back (just like He-Man did), and prepare myself for battle. When the villains (my sisters) attacked my pillow fort, I’d wield the sword and defeat the vicious enemies. This was one of the first versions of “cops and robbers” that I remember playing with my siblings.
As we grew older, the story continuously changed, but the plot was always the same: There was a good guy and a bad guy. I don’t remember how old I was, but at some point I wondered what it would be like if the bad guy won the battle.
Sometimes I’d play the part of the villain and would win by not “letting” the good guys defeat me. But I never felt good about winning. Especially when it caused actual harm to my siblings or whoever else I was playing with. Winning has a cost.
Unfortunately winning at any cost is a common refrain of many adult relationships. Especially in our intimate ones. You can either be right, or you can be love. You can’t do both. Jesus addressed this idea in Matthew 6:24 when he said that you cannot serve two masters. Being right and being love are two opposing objectives.
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