The Two Conquerors

Francis Bourdillon, 1873

The shops are closed; the streets are crowded; guns are firing; flags are flying—it is a general holiday, a day of public rejoicing. What has happened? A great general has just landed from foreign parts. He has come home a conqueror, for he has taken a strong city which had long stood out against our army. His name is on every tongue. As his carriage goes slowly up the street, thousands of voices cheer him. He is the hero of the day. And more than that, his name will appear in history as a conqueror. The taking of that city has made him great for generations to come.

Let us change time and scene. Two working men stand together at a street corner. One is talking loudly and angrily; you may hear him half-way down the street. He speaks insulting words to the other, storms at him, swears at him, does all he can to provoke him. See, he has thrust his fist in his face and calls on him to "fight it out." A flush rises in the face of the other man; he seems just about to speak; if he does speak, it will be in hot anger. But no; he checks himself; there seems to be a struggle within him; he keeps down his anger, stops the hasty word, and turns away. "I'll speak to you about it another time," he says; and though the angry man lays hold on him roughly—yet he quietly turns away and walks down the street, followed still by bitter and provoking words. Yet in all that his workmate was so angry about, he was in the right, and his workmate in the wrong.

No one saw those two men. No one knew of the unjust anger of the one, or of the meek patience of the other—no one but God in Heaven. The angry man went one way, and the patient man went another. And so the matter ended.

But what have the general and this patient man to do with one another? A great deal. The general was a great conqueror—and so was this humble man whom nobody knew anything about. They were both conquerors; but the general had only taken a city, while the other had conquered himself. And what does the Bible say? "He who is slow to anger, is better than the mighty; and he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city" (Proverbs 16:32). This is the judgment of truth—the judgment of God. The general was a great conqueror, but the workman was a greater conqueror.

Our hardest battles are with ourselves—and our worst enemies are in our own hearts. Some however wage no warfare of this sort, but give way to every inclination and speak and act just as they like. When they think anyone has done them wrong, they let themselves be as angry as they please, and say all the sharp words they can think of; though very often, after all, the wrong has been no wrong at all. Can this be right? Surely not, if we go by the Bible.

How kind, how gentle, how forgiving, how watchful over himself—a Christian ought to be! He is by profession a follower of Christ. And Christ was always kind, gentle, and forgiving. He went about saying kind words and doing kind things. He was kind to all, to enemies as well as friends. When men reviled Him—He said not a word. When they nailed Him to the cross—He prayed for them. He gave Himself up to die for us; and thus dying for us, He is our only hope. We would be lost forever, but for Him. How then can we be unkind, angry, revengeful? The Bible tells us what the Lord Jesus did for us, and then says to us, "Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you" (Ephesians 4:32).

Is this hard? Then it is only the more needful to be done. If you do not rule your spirit, that is, your temper—then be sure your temper will rule you. Yes, it is hard, and very hard at times. But the Spirit helps our infirmities. As hard as the work is, there is help for us there—help that will make us conquerors too, greater conquerors than him that takes a city.

Would you be such a conqueror? Watch and pray. Watch against a hasty temper. Pray earnestly for God's grace. Pray at the very time when you are provoked. When bitter words have been spoken against you and you feel the rising anger, then pray. Here is a prayer that will suit you, "Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth! Keep watch over the door of my lips" (Psalm 141:3). That was David's prayer. Another man of God said, "When I am weak, then am I strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10). How was that? Because he prayed, and God helped him.