Conservative ‘Knights Templar’: Are we The Light or Are we Shadows

“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” — John 15:12

My last column I spoke about the Templars and being a political Templar. Many people seemed to really enjoy the sentiment and I appreciate all the great comments and those who shared it with others. Originally it was meant to be a single column, however I have been thinking and praying about it and I have decided that there was another avenue that I felt I needed to talk about.

The Templar Order was not just a military unit but also many spread the Gospel throughout the Eastern World on their many adventures. If it is a topic you are interested in I would encourage you to take a look through history and see all the lives that were changed and impacted for the positive by the Templars as well as many other groups like them. This week I saw a series of videos on YouTube that showed me exactly what I needed to talk about today.

With all the trouble and strife in the world today it can seem very hard to find the good. I know myself I have a very hard time being positive while I watch the events unfolding throughout the world. I feel like this message is needed right now as we stand on the edge of a war in Ukraine, while we watch senseless slaughter in Syria and bear witness to unthinkable crimes that are perpetrated within our own country every day.

Although we live in extraordinary times of peril and death, this is not much different than the world that the Templars resided in many centuries ago. However, they made a choice and it is a choice that is present for all of us today. They had to choose whether they were going to be a light in the world or simply a shadow. What is a shadow? A shadow is the darkness casted when something is blocking the light.

The videos that I mentioned earlier are a series of ordinary people risking their lives to save others. Chances are most of will never be faced with the choice to risk our lives to help a total stranger. However, these are drastic examples. Christ has commanded us to love each other. Being the light could be something as simple as listening to someone who is having a rough time or consoling an acquaintance or a good friend through a hard time. This is how we cast the light that Christ has commanded.
In an increasingly dark world it is of more importance then it has ever been. Would you help a stranger in the street? Would you give a person you didn’t know money, simply because they were in need? Christ said the things you do to the least of my brothers you have done to me.

Being a Templar is not just about fighting. If it is hard for us to find the good and trust in God, what must the world look like to those who cannot find the light? Before we fight for political ground we should be Templars and fight for souls. It is up to us to constantly remind people that the world may be evil and wicked but those in it do not have to be. Be not of this world. It is the world who encourages us to act like we don’t notice those people in need. We come up with reasons to ignore them and the world helps us with this. We are too busy, we have places to be, it’s not my problem and if I help I could get hurt or killed in some cases. Let me ask you a question.
What on this Earth is more important than someone’s soul? How will you be able to look Christ in the eye one day and say, “That heroin addict I passed in the subway or on the street everyday was searching for the light, silently crying out for just one person to pick them up and point them in the direction, but hey, man, I had a hot date and I didn’t want to be late?” “I had a football game to get to or my job is so stressful that I don’t have time to deal with everyone else’s problems.”

When we are shadows we add to the darkness. We become a further hindrance to those who are already lost. Make no mistake, friends, your friends who are not religious, they watch you and what you do. When you choose to ignore those in need all around you, you block the light from those who need to find it the most. There is plenty of good done in the world everyday by those who aren’t believers in Christ, but just think of how much more we could illuminate this world for Christ if we could put our pride and selfishness away and take time to seek out those society has abandoned. If we put our IPhones down for twenty minutes and sat down next to that alcoholic at the bus stop and said, “Buddy I don’t know where you are at, but let’s go get some breakfast and talk about it.”

The Templars were some of the most dangerous and feared military units during the Crusades. However, they also were a force for good. Without drawing the sword, they set people free and showed them the light. Do we need to be Conservative Templars? Yes, we do. However, first we need to be Christian Templars and show this world that while many people may block the light, it is not the darkness that extinguishes the light but a light that extinguishes the darkness.

Thanks for Reading.

Image: Courtesy of: http://www.ign.com/wikis/dark-souls-2/File%3ADarkSoulsII_reveal _13.bmp