Unshackled Echo ~ April 9, 2019 ~ Who Holds The Leash?

Don't you ever tame your demons But always keep them on a leash. - Hozier

I love this line, and there is a part of me that agrees with it still, even though experience has shown me that's not how it works. There is nothing new under the sun, and none of us are dying of terminal uniqueness. We are all unique, created to reflect a certain glory of our Creator that no one else can quiet reflect the same way, but at the same time those feelings, temptations and fears that make us feel like no one has them are not nearly as unique as we think. And it's not always easy to tell if the unique part of us, that which drives us and makes us individually us, is a blessing or a curse.The idea I got from this line by Hozier is that you have to keep that fire alive but under your own control because it will leave destruction and ashes in your wake if you don't. How bad, how many and out of what those ashes are comprised of is what determine's you level of peace.

That's my interpretation of Arsonist's Lullaby anyway, and I tried to live that way for so long. Our gifts are a lot like our instincts. They are God given for a purpose, but when they are out of the banks, they flood through our lives and wash away all pretense of control or restraint. We do whatever it takes to in order to feed that instinctive drive or express that gift, no matter what it does to us or those we care about. The instinct to eat is a good one, but we can push others away and eat ourselves into an early grave if this instinct is warped. And the musician with a God given talent and drive, who has simply got to play or die, can move the world with his gift or lose everything as he walks away from family to pursue the passion of his curse.

It's easy to see why it would be comfortable to call those passions, drives and inner voices urging us on demons. First, they are so much a part of us, that they are very often what we use to define our core self, yet at the same time always seem to be a little other, as though it's a temporary gift just waiting to go to someone else should we fail to make use of it. The other reason it can feel demon or beast like is that our gifts and instincts alike, the ones that really effect and move us anyway, can never be tamed or leashed. What I have experienced and seen in others is that when we try to leash it, we either kill it or finally come to the understanding that we are the ones leashed and controlled by the tyrant drive, not the other way around.

But the One who gave us that gift can feed it, cause it to flourish, allow us to use it in a way that doesn't leave ashes behind us, that gives great joy to us and glory to Him. When we surrender our instincts, passions, gifts, talents and drives to Christ, we put the leash in the hands of the only one who can tame the tiger without killing it or turning it into a kitty cat. The gift can become all that it was meant to be and make life worth living rather than destroying us when we give it back to the One who gave it to us.

Today's Unshackled Echo was previously published on

March 8, 2016.

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