The Fight of the Ages

Read Time:6 Minute, 25 Second

The Colosseum is absolutely electric tonight! The air is thick with anticipation as the crowd waits for what has been hyped as the fight of the century! The two fighters in the main event have completely different styles and approaches! Will it be a test of endurance, a battle of wills, or a matter of pure strength? The energy in the arena is palpable and everyone is on the edge of their seats, waiting to witness the ultimate showdown!

With the audience assembled and in place, the trumpets began to play with a loud pitch that rang throughout the stadium, announcing that the bout was about to begin. An entourage started to emerge from one side of the main floor, coming out of the dark tunnel. The crowd watched with anxious anticipation as the first fighter appeared and emerged from the middle of the entourage within a few short minutes. As the fighter became visible, the crowd erupted in a loud mixture of cheers and jeers. He walked arrogantly and proudly, screaming in mean-spirited anger towards those in attendance. With his head held high and looking towards the ceiling, he raised his arms in predictable triumph for what was about to go down. Those in the crowd who liked this fighter continued with admiration, cheers, and trash-talked those around them in the stands. To them, their fighter had already won this battle. He would be fighting out of the black corner.

A few moments later, another group of people emerged from the lighted up tunnel on the other side of the main floor. As the fighter stepped out, the audience cheered with excitement, just like they did before. He walked gracefully, thanking those around him, and made his way to the ring. Although he exuded peace, humbleness, and humility, one might wonder why he would choose to fight. But make no mistake, he was prepared and had strong confidence. He would be fighting out of the red corner.

Once the fighters entered the ring, the announcer began, “Ladies and gentlemen, tonight’s clash has been deemed the Fight of the Ages! At stake is the Have Character Championship of the World, which will bring life’s reward to the grandest stage for the winner! To my left, fighting out of the black corner, a fighter with no fear of battle. He is a fast starter, relentless in his pursuit of his opponent. Let me introduce to you…The Short-Term Thinker!” Once again, the crowd stood on their feet, pledging their allegiance to their fighter.

The announcer then continued…”And fighting out of the red corner…a fighter with great power and confidence in his skills…A methodical, steady fighter with thunder in his hands. let me introduce to you…The Long-Term Thinker!” Like clockwork, those in the crowd who supported this figher responded in an uproar.

As the announcer finished speaking, the referee raised the championship belt. This belt represented everything that the winner could hope for in life – peace, love, happiness, and a legacy of greatness that would never be forgotten.

The bell rang and the fighters squared off for their championship bout. Here is what each of them was bringing to this Fight of the Ages:

The Short-Term Thinker brings this to the table: living for today with no thought of tomorrow nor any consideration of the past. With this approach, there is no regard for the potential harm caused by “living in the moment” or the lessons learned from past mistakes that could have helped shape a better person moving forward. The Short-Term Thinker lacks the discipline to care about any consequences that may result from their short-term thinking.

When it comes to family, his short-term thinking doesn’t consider any actions that might hurt his family down the road. He doesn’t think before he speaks. He doesn’t think before he acts. He doesn’t think before saying or doing things that cause deep wounds that might cause deep scares, if the wounds even heal at all.

When it comes to his financial responsibility and stability, he doesn’t worry about his own tomorrow let alone worrying about teaching his kids how to responsibly handle theirs.

When it comes to spirituality, he doesn’t think past today, let alone even think there might be an eternal destiny that awaits. He is so caught up in his short-term mindset, the thought of God is nowhere on his radar…and although his life is walking on the road to destruction, he doesn’t even see it coming, even though it’s coming all the same. Worse yet, he blows right by the fork in the road that pointed him down the narrow road that leads to Life, not paying it any attention.

With his short-term thinking comes a quickness to be reckless with his behavior. Ultimately, in the short-term he might flurry with a whirlwind that causes very quick excitement…after all, he lives in the “now”. But will it last? And then what?

In contrast, The Long-Term Thinker brings the following to the fight: He considers the consequences of his words and actions before speaking or acting. This keeps him from the damage and hurt that would have been caused down the road. The Long-Term thinker is forever trying to master discipline in his life and pass that down to the ones in which he is responsible for and accountable to.

When it comes to financial responsibility and stability, The Long-Term Thinker understands that time is the wealth builder and invests his money. He then teaches his kids to do the same. Time is something he knows he can’t get back, so he has the foresight to start this early, even if he didn’t have much money to start with.

When it comes to family, he makes decisions with his family in mind, and not just how it benefits him. He takes the hard road of lovingly disciplining his children because he has a good grasp on the long term benefits it will do for them. He knows it’s his responsibility to mold them and not leave it up to life to do it for him as he knows the tragedy life lessons will bring, if left without guidance or direction.

When it comes to spirituality, he is wise enough to know there is God who teaches us all there is to know about the dangers of this world and the promises He has for those that love, follow Him, and want a personal relationship with him. The Long-Term Thinker paid attention to the road in front of him, and jumped onto the narrow road that leads to Life, forever avoiding the runaway freight train coming directly for him on the wide road of destruction he was on. A road that had no way to jump to the sides to avoid what the train will do to him.

When the Fight of the Ages for the Have Character championship of the world took place… A title that will bring love, peace, happiness, and cement themselves in the history of greatness…the fight between the two combatants lasted all of 3 rounds as one of the fighters only lasted that long. The other fighter kept answering the rest of the bells of each round on until the end of the fight, but he found himself alone with no one to fight. In the end, one fighter won this fight easily! Who might you think that fighter ended up being?

Be The Long-Term Thinker!

Win the Have Character Championship of the World with those you come in contact with!

Have Character!

J Noah Russell