Slaying Our Evil Giants... or is that a Windmill? [America's Don Quixote moment?]

Do

n Quixote is one of the books you've heard of, but probably never read. However, as classic literature it seems ever so relevant in 2021.

Don Quixote is a comedic epic about a man who was obsessed with stories of knightly chivalry. He read too many books about knights and their adventures of fighting dragons and giants, conquering lands, and saving the princess that he seemed to get bored of the daily, mundane life of an average citizen in Spain. So he found some old moldy armor, dusted it off, found a horse way past its prime, acquired a squire (named Sancho who in most ways is more intelligent than him), and set off on his knight errant.

The only problem with Don Quixote is that his reality was not real. His obsession with adventure led him to se a brothel full of prostitutes as a castle (he eventually convinces its steward to knight him as everyone laughs in astonishment), windmills as giants (yes, he does try and attack and soon finds himself with his lance stuck in the turning mill as he is flung off his old horse), and other very silly adventures. Early in the book, his friends see Don Quixote in his almost deranged state, and begin throwing away all of his books of chivalry in an effort to rescue their lost friend.

I want to draw a comparison for your consideration. Could it be that January 6th was our own Don Quixote moment? Has America read one too many Tom Clancy novels and lived too deeply in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that they think they, like Quixote, could finally participate in some real life-version? And if I could speak directly to Christians, as I pastor a church - have Christians read one too many Left Behind books, imagining that America is at the center of the world map, and that all of the end of the world events will begin here, and just maybe we could join God in his fight against the deep and dark and secret forces of evil in this world? And yes, I saw the most bold of the mob praying to Jesus in the congressional chamber.

January 6th was anything but comedic. Yet as Christians we really need to keep watch over our hearts. We need to keep watch over what we are feeding our minds, what we are feeding our souls. The media of images and video keep us clicking for the emotion and experience of it all, and they must be exciting. News must stand out in the sea of clicks for how exciting it is. I truly believe that much of America is just a little too excited, and far more than we anticipated were found swinging their proverbial swords at the wind mills of the capitol. Can I play the role of Sancho, Quixote's squire in yelling - "maybe you're deceived? Maybe things are not perfect in our government, and quite possibly is filled with some corruption, but hey! it's really just a windmill and we should all take it easy."

I say this because I want to see the Church flourishing and focusing on the things that we are called to focus on - making disciples (Matthew 28:16-20), loving our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-39), and being a blessing to our communities (Jeremiah 27:9) in the name of Jesus (Galatians 2:10). I think much of the evangelical church has been distracted as of late, and we need to be refocused.