My favorite scene from the movie The Princess Bride is when the hero, referred to at first as "the man in black," confronts the evil Sicilian, Vizzini. Having already bested his two henchmen in contests of fencing and strength, the man in black challenges Vizzini to a battle of wits in order to save the woman he loves.
The contest is simple. Two goblets of wine are poured, the hero conceals them, and adds an odorless poison. Vizzini must choose one of the goblets, and both will drink at the same time. Vizzini must decide which goblet is safe to drink.
Vizzini shares his thought process out-loud, carrying on a circuitous monologue of logic for five minutes in an attempt to get the man in black to betray the location of the poison. When he is unsuccessful, he resorts to trickery. Vizzini redirects his opponent's attention elsewhere, and switches the goblets.
When the man in black turns back to the Sicilian, Vizzini picks up the goblet closest to him, puts it to his lips, and watches carefully as his opponent does the same without hesitation. Seeing this, he believes that he is safe, drinks his wine, and the man in black does the same. Thinking himself the winner, he laughs and mocks the man in black, bragging of his superior intelligence until he collapses in death a few moments later.
As our hero is untying his beloved, he reveals to her that both of the goblets had been poisoned, and that he had been building up a resistance to that particular poison for the past two years. There was never any doubt of the outcome from the beginning of the contest.
I believe that many people of faith have forgotten their faith in today's culture. Bible-believing Christians know the way the story ends, and any progress that evil seems to be making against the will of God will eventually be swallowed whole by his all-encompassing plan.
Christians know this to be true, but we don't always act as if it were. We have been quaking at the perceived progress of evil brought to us by the news for years, but never so much as we have recently. Whether the source is secular media or newsletters from para-church organizations, we sometimes act as if evil is unstoppable, and that good is in full-retreat.
Has God ceased being omnipotent? Does He tremble at political changes in the wind? Are there developments in our times that have taken our omniscient God by surprise? The very thought is laughable.
I don't suggest that we relax our guard and turn a blind eye to evil in the knowledge that God is in control. God often honors us by choosing individuals as agents of His change in the world. What I am suggesting is that we adjust our attitude toward the spirit of our age. We must always remember that there was never any doubt of the outcome from the beginning of this contest, and we should act in the knowledge of this truth.
Rob Pearce is the founder of WorshipBasics.com, a website created for the support and encouragement of others starting contemporary worship services in traditional churches. Visit at http://www.worshipbasics.com and signup for a free mini-course - Solutions for the 7 Roadblocks to Contemporary Worship.
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