The Obi Wan Effect

Star Wars I (or IV depending on when you were born) was the first movie I can ever remember seeing. Not a bad start to my introduction to movies. I was 6 or 7 yrs old when I watched it and I loved that movie. I thought Princess Leah was smokin (even with that ridiculous hairdo) and the way she used that blaster was well...amazing!! Han Solo was cool and my favorite character. Luke Skywalker was a nerd but he had to be in the movie because after all he was the Chosen One.

 There are a lot of parts in that movie that I liked but this morning the thought of Obi Wans sacrifice came into my mind. For those of you that haven't seen the movie (shame on you) Obi Wan is the Jedi Master that trains Luke Skywalker to eventually destroy the evil Empire. About half way through the movie he allows Darth Vader to kill him so as Obi Wan put it, "I can become more powerful then you could imagine." For the rest of the trilogy Obi Wan is like a conscience for Luke helping him through hardships in his training and eventually his final battles, his voice is often heard encouraging Luke. Obi Wans new found power comes from his great sacrifice, giving up his life.

 Of course for those of us that are believers we can relate this story to Jesus Christ in the Bible and that is an easy comparison but what about each one of us?

 Who would you give your life for so they could reach their potential?

 An easy answer for me is my children but that is to easy, any good parent would give their life for their child. But what about a friend, a coworker, a complete stranger; that starts to get a little dicey. You may be thinking this is a morbid post (it is Halloween after all) but laying your life down does not have to mean literal death.

 In the Bible husbands are told to lay their lives down for their wives and most of you men are saying that real death would be easier....(I am just playing ladies) We are taught to lay down our lives for our children and the world around us by following Christs example. Again this doesn't mean that we have to literally die but what it does mean is we have to be willing to sacrifice. It will hurt and it will be hard but I am convinced it is the key to true fulfillment and success.

 When we put the needs of others before our own we start to lose sight of our failures, hurts and even our own needs. We don't have time for self pity when we show pity and concern for others. We lose our ambition to succeed at all costs when we help pave the road for others success. Over the years I have heard thousands of sermons and motivational speeches on how to self improve and deal with failures in your life. The truth is laying it down for others is the only answer. When you lay your life down all the trivial things don't matter anymore.

 Imagine what would happen in politics if our politicians lived that way. What if they realized they were here for us? Imagine the change in our countries divorce rate if each spouse would do this. We would see changes in our schools, towns, churches and it would change the world.

 So next time you have the choice follow Obi Wans lead and put away your lightsaber. Lay your life down for a cause, a friend, your family, your country, or a complete stranger and see if you don't become, "more powerful then you could possibly imagine."

Thanks for reading

Steve..aka Han Solo