My five-year-old asked me this morning about the word perish. “Does it mean to die?” she asked. Yes, it does, it means exactly that. I was beginning to say ‘not doing good..., but then the appropriate word is death.  

Perish means die, succumb, disease even decay. Do you feel like sometimes this is a suitable word to describe the state of the world now? Not only do we need a saviour, but we also need to save us from ourselves.

On one side, we have the war between Russia and Ukraine. The other side is Palestine versus Israel which has been going on for a long time. However, you see it, we are far away yet so near to war. We can only bear witness to the cruelty and helplessness.  

Talofae, at some point, I must look away from the graphic images of children in pieces after bombings, and parents lamenting over their loss. Perhaps, the most crucial war is the one inside of us. That is one we are advised to do first, conquer ourselves.

“We know that the law is spiritual, but I am not.  I am so human.  Sin rules me as if I were its slave.  I don’t understand why I act the way I do.  I don’t do the good I want to do, and I do the evil I hate.  And if I don’t want to do what I do, that means I agree that the law is good.”

Paul writes in the book of Romans.

Stopping the war in your head and soul is oh so hard when the events demand a response, a reaction from us daily. Perhaps much harder than conquering the world outside.  

“The Supreme conqueror is not he who conquers a million men in battle, but he who conquers a single man: himself. Where one cannot eliminate violence by kindness, resorting to violence is still to be avoided.  Victory creates hatred. Defeat creates suffering. The wise ones desire neither victory nor defeat” - Buddha teachings.

When there is conflict, people can respond in different ways. How are we dealing with all of these? Are we pushing back, doing something, speaking up, keeping silent or simply not our problem? When the war is inside, the signs aren’t always visible but long term, if we are losing that battle of the mind, soul and spirit, it can make us physically ill.  

The battle inside is spiritual, and we must overcome or perish. Thankfully we do not do it alone, we have the Creator who can help us. While we enjoy another Sunday Samoa, some things to think about.