Fully Engaged

My sleep is filled with fitful dreams. Terrible shapes haunt the night. They shadow me as I move through the forest. I can hear them growling, a low rumble that seems to grow louder by the second. Demonic laughter echoes in the treetops. Something leaps at me out of the dark. I whirl to face bared fangs and scream in terror.

I sit up shaking and wipe an unsteady hand across my brow. My heart is trying to pound its way out of my chest. Waves of adrenaline still course through my body, slowly receding as I come back to the waking world. I listen nervously to the night around me. I hear nothing but the sigh of the wind in the trees and a far-off rumble.

I settle back down into my blanket with a relieved sigh and smile sheepishly at my own fantasies. The rumble grows louder.

What rumble?

I jump to my feet and peer into the night beyond my foxhole, my senses on full alert. The wind gusts briefly and I lose the sound. It comes back, louder than ever. Instantly, I know what it is. An armored column!

I grab my helmet and jump out of my hole. I must warn the commander of the imminent threat. They sound as if they are head--

A violent hand picks me up and throws me through the air. I land with a grunt, losing my breath. The thunder of the concussion shatters the night air. Dirt and rocks from the shell's impact rain down on my battered body. I crawl forward, trying desperately to find shelter.

Flashes illuminate the other side of the clearing. I grovel in the dirt as the night is torn apart around me. I am tossed about like a rag doll by the explosions. Squirming forward, I search desperately for a foxhole, any place to find shelter from the attack. I can see the massive tanks lumbering into the clearing. Foot soldiers run alongside the armor.

A hole appears in front of me. I slither into it face first and lie panting on the bottom like a fish in a boat.

An electronic beep catches my attention.

I sit up and realize I am not alone. A soldier slouches on the other side of the hole, appearing totally engrossed in a handheld electronic device. He is playing a GameBoy.

My mouth drops open in disbelief.

"Hey!" I shout.

"What?" He doesn't even look up.

"What are you doing?!"

"Playing Super-Duper Mario 10,000. What's it look like?"

"Don't you realize we're under attack?! For crying out loud, there's a war on!" I can feel the earth-shaking whump of mortars. The crackle of small arms joins the cacophony.

The soldier remains engrossed in his game.

"Is there? That's nice. It doesn't concern me very much."

I stare at him in disbelief. "But you're a soldier! Of course it concerns you!"

He shrugs noncommittally. I realize my mouth is hanging open and I close it with a snap. Rising to my feet, I look down at the soldier in sorrow and a bit of irritation. I realize there is nothing I can do for him right now. The Commander will have to deal with him.

With a sigh, I chamber a round in my rifle.

* * * * * *

A war rages among us. Most true soldiers see the reality of this war, their eyes opened by the Captain. Few will deny the truth that we fight battles every day. Yet not every soldier is a fighter.

The enemy is very crafty. He knows he cannot ultimately triumph through an all-out frontal assault. Yet he is unwilling to simply accept defeat. He continually plots new ways to entrap the King's soldiers and make them useless.

He found one of his greatest weapons in modern culture. Using the attraction that the world holds for mankind, he draws in many soldiers and catches their attention with temporal things. He gets them totally immersed in the culture. More often than not, they soon forget about the things of the King.

Thus the enemy neutralizes many soldiers without striking a blow.

Far too many soldiers are so completely engaged in the world that they do little in the King's service. They maintain their faith and keep their relationship with the Captain free from reproach, but they are not doing harm to the enemy. They pose little threat to him.

These inactive soldiers go through their life just living. They never truly step out in faith and carry the war to the enemy. They appear to have a fulfilling life, but they do not experience the joy and exhilaration that the Captain gives when His soldiers fight well. They are on the front lines, but they might as well be in reserve for all the good they are doing.

My comrades, examine your life carefully. How much are you doing for the King? Have you become so caught up in the cares of this world that you have been neutralized? Do not go through your life in such a state. Step out, dust off your weapon, and go to war. You cannot fall. The war has already been won.

My Captain, keep me in the front lines.