Window or Mirror?

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate;
I am the captain of my soul.

-William Ernest Henley (British Poet, 1875)

Ah yes, the poem that Timothy McVeigh uttered as the execution drugs began flowing into his veins. Americans love this poem. Men love this poem. We grunt like Tim the Toolman Taylor at the dark overtones and the protagonists unquenchable spirit. We are gripped with emotion at the last two lines, I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul. “Invictus”, unconquered! Deep emotion, passion, and strength; good stuff.

Small problem though, it isn’t true.

We are no more than bit players in our fate, and – indeed – sometimes in our lives. Almost anyone can tell you a story that demonstrates, regardless the energy they’ve poured into a thing, that the endeavor failed or didn’t turn out they way they desired. It is a great thing to remain unbowed by circumstance, but understand, you are not the captain of your soul.

Firstly, you ‘are’ your soul and you don’t ‘own’ it. It was given to you at conception by God. In Genesis we read the account of Adam and his body being brought to life by the in-breathing of God. That soul creates human life and when you die, it goes back ‘somewhere’. (We can discuss the ‘somewheres’ in another post).

Secondly, the Bible explains that we can serve only one of two masters. We will love the one and hate the other, or vice versa. Those two masters are Satan and God. One of the two of them is the master of your soul if by master you mean something like, “That entity that determines influences on my thinking and being”.

Now, ‘fate’. I take this to mean the final disposition of my soul, not the meandering walk that we each take here on earth. Folks, we aren’t even in full control of the smallest things here on earth. Tend a garden, farm for a living, repair cars or computers, raise a teenager.. you find that we cannot control anything here. It’s like grasping water and gripping it harder and harder; the harder you grasp, the less you are holding on to. If we have this little control over corporeal things, what makes us think that we have any effect on our place in the afterlife!? The final disposition of our soul, our fate, is simple.. it is directly tied to the master of our soul while we are here.

So, what does God desire of us then? It is clear that the dark and foreboding terms of the poem draw us because we see this darkness on earth, but I think that God would like us to focus ever upward and bring some Light to the earth while we are here. As far as mindset goes, I think He wants us to be lion-hearted and full of courage, but He wants that courage to be placed in our knowledge that He is the Captain of our soul. I think that He wants us to remain humble (humilis) in the knowledge that we can do nothing of eternal significance without Him, and that we are part of a much greater Plan that He has for this planet. Micah 6:8 does a great job of outlining what God desires of us in terms of mindset and approach.

Don’t falter, be of courage, place your faith in Him, and walk among others with humility. Be conquered, by Christ. Humilis, not Invictus.

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