Rise of the Guardians is a movie which captured my imagination, but the first book in the children's series stole my heart. I put off reading it for a long time because of the origin of the villain, Pitch. In the movie, Pitch is simply the king of nightmares, the Boogeyman. In the first book, Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King, readers learn he was possessed by legions of shadowy creatures known as Fearlings. Being the cautious Christian I am, when I first read that section of the book, I stopped. I brought it back to the library and did not pick it up for several years.
However, something pulled me back to that particular book and that particular scene, and I realized I should not have dismissed it so easily. In fact, the paragraphs leading up to Pitch's transformation are some of the most spiritually poignant I have found. You see, when Pitch was possessed by creatures of darkness, the reasoning behind his fall is all too real.
The man was a hero of the Golden Age, one of the best of his time. He believed he could guard the captured Fearlings and Nightmare Men all on his own. After all, he had helped conquer them; he should be able to hold them. He thought his own willpower was enough to withstand their whispers of temptation. He was wrong. When he finally succumbed and cracked open the door, the Fearlings overpowered him, wiping away every shred of goodness and darkening his soul beyond repair.
This may seem like an extreme, fantastical situation, but it is far too true in many lives. Even as Christians, we tend to think we can withstand temptations on our own, without others or God to support us. There are even Scriptures we quote to help with that illusion, 1 Corinthians 10:13, specifically. "The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. ..." There we have it. God will not give us more than we can stand, so we must be able to hold up on our own.
So often, we get caught in the web of sin because we struggle alone. The rest of 1 Corinthians 10:13 is left out. "...When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure." Even the truest and longest of Christians cannot face temptation on their own. The verse before states this fact clearly. "If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall."
Pitch believed he could guard the darkness by himself. He thought he was strong enough to withstand the constant whispers of deceit. He was not, and neither are we. Only through a continual trust in God can we hope to withstand temptation. After all, the battle is not ours but belongs to the Lord. He fights for us.
However, something pulled me back to that particular book and that particular scene, and I realized I should not have dismissed it so easily. In fact, the paragraphs leading up to Pitch's transformation are some of the most spiritually poignant I have found. You see, when Pitch was possessed by creatures of darkness, the reasoning behind his fall is all too real.
The man was a hero of the Golden Age, one of the best of his time. He believed he could guard the captured Fearlings and Nightmare Men all on his own. After all, he had helped conquer them; he should be able to hold them. He thought his own willpower was enough to withstand their whispers of temptation. He was wrong. When he finally succumbed and cracked open the door, the Fearlings overpowered him, wiping away every shred of goodness and darkening his soul beyond repair.
This may seem like an extreme, fantastical situation, but it is far too true in many lives. Even as Christians, we tend to think we can withstand temptations on our own, without others or God to support us. There are even Scriptures we quote to help with that illusion, 1 Corinthians 10:13, specifically. "The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. ..." There we have it. God will not give us more than we can stand, so we must be able to hold up on our own.
So often, we get caught in the web of sin because we struggle alone. The rest of 1 Corinthians 10:13 is left out. "...When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure." Even the truest and longest of Christians cannot face temptation on their own. The verse before states this fact clearly. "If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall."
Pitch believed he could guard the darkness by himself. He thought he was strong enough to withstand the constant whispers of deceit. He was not, and neither are we. Only through a continual trust in God can we hope to withstand temptation. After all, the battle is not ours but belongs to the Lord. He fights for us.