Pick Your Battles – As Seen in a Commercial

By Msgr. Charles Pope • January 29, 2018

In life we have to decide which battles to fight and which to leave to others. We need to learn which battles are ours and which belong to others. Often we allow the urgent to leap ahead of the important on our priority list. We are forever pursuing the latest trendy battles rather than the ones we should be fighting.

In the commercial below a certain “eco-warrior” tries to fight every popular battle: saving the whales, the trees, the ice caps, and so forth. In doing so, she ends up harming not only herself, but also even some of the very things she seeks to save. She also discovers that not everything she thinks needs saving thinks it needs saving.

Let’s skip the politics and consider that in life we need to discern which battles to fight by asking questions. Is this my battle? Is the battle reasonably winnable given my gifts and talents? Am I really the best equipped to aid in this cause or are others better suited? And above all, does God want this of me?

We discern things like this best with the help of others we trust and based on our state in life and on our understanding of our individual gifts and talents.

Tomorrow I will post an article on discernment to further develop these ideas. For now, enjoy the commercial.