You’re Not The Hero

The wild fantasies of our age

You are not the “Hero of the age” you’re a short Hobbit with a small garden.

The Tower of Cirith Ungol, The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

“His thought turned to the Ring, but there was no comfort there, only dread and danger. No sooner had he come in sight of Mount Doom, burning far away, than he was aware of a change in his burden. As it drew near the great furnaces where, in the deeps of time, it had been shaped and forged, the Ring’s power grew, and it became more fell, untameable save by some mighty will. As Sam stood there, even though the Ring was not on him but hanging by its chain about his neck, he felt himself enlarged, as if he were robed in a huge distorted shadow of himself, a vast and ominous threat halted upon the walls of Mordor. He felt that he had from now on only two choices: to forbear the Ring, though it would torment him; or to claim it, and challenge the Power that sat in its dark hold beyond the valley of shadows.

Already the Ring tempted him, gnawing at his will and reason. Wild fantasies arose in his mind; and he saw Samwise the Strong, Hero of the Age, striding with a flaming sword across the darkened land, and armies flocking to his call as he marched to the overthrow of Barad-dûr. And then all the clouds rolled away, and the white sun shone, and at his command the vale of Gorgoroth became a garden of flowers and trees and brought forth fruit. He had only to put on the Ring and claim it for his own, and all this could be.

In that hour of trial it was the love of his master that helped most to hold him firm; but also deep down in him lived still unconquered his plain hobbit-sense: he knew in the core of his heart that he was not large enough to bear such a burden, even if such visions were not a mere cheat to betray him.

The one small garden of a free gardener was all his need and due, not a garden swollen to a realm; his own hands to use, not the hands of others to command.

‘And anyway all these notions are only a trick,’ he said to himself. ‘He’d spot me and cow me, before I could so much as shout out. He’d spot me, pretty quick, if I put the Ring on now, in Mordor. Well, all I can say is: things look as hopeless as a frost in Spring. Just when being invisible would be really useful, I can’t use the Ring! And if ever I get any further, it’s going to be nothing but a drag and a burden every step. So what’s to be done?’ He was not really in any doubt. He knew that he must go down to the gate and not linger any more.

With a shrug of his shoulders, as if to shake off the shadow and dismiss the phantoms, he began slowly to descend. With each step he seemed to diminish. He had not gone far before he had shrunk again to a very small and frightened hobbit.”

The Apostle Paul said: “I may be unskilled as a speaker, but I’m not lacking in knowledge…I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am.” (2 Corinthians 11:30).

We don’t live in a world that values the path of a Samwise that “descends and diminishes”, we want “Hero’s of the Age” that are “striding with a flaming sword across the darkened land” with “armies flocking to his call”.

Too many people have gotten the wrong script. They are reading Jesus’s lines and think it’s thier part. You’re not the Hero…you’re the Gardener.

“Wild fantasies” distract us from the meaningful and often mundane duties and demands that our lives require of us. The “Ring” as it were puts you in a fever that inflates your view of yourself. Soon you’re overwhelmed with the reality that you are: “…not large enough to bear such a burden.”.

Disillusionment from the deception and distraction can wreak havoc on the heart and mind of those who were sold the Heroe’s Age script. Overworked and burned out souls litter the narrow path that was meant to lead to abundant life, liberty, love and service from a willing heart.

“Plant what you can water” is a good pace to live by if you’re going to last. Even Paul rejected the “Super Apostle” persona (2 Cor. 11:5). Let Jesus be Jesus, let the body of Christ be the body, you just need to be little ol’ you.

“Shake off the Shadow” and keep pressing forward even if everything seems as “hopeless as a frosting Spring.”

Go home, tend your small garden of duties and desires, fight your battles, pull your weeds and bake your pies.

“Dismiss the Phantoms” that have filled your weary soul with nightmares and impossibilities and remember to simply focus on your Frodo and the handful of responsibilities that only you can truly carry well.

Accept like Sam that “…all these notions are only a trick…He’d spot me and cow me, before I could so much as shout out.” Drop the “war cry”, Jesus said “It is finished”.