"This is Sparta!"

"Go tell the Spartans, passerby,
That here, by Spartan law, we lie."

The above is a translation of the inscription that was left on an epitaph for the 300 dead Spartans at Thermopylae. My focus however is on what Spartan law actually is, rather than on the battle itself. In the movie 300 it's stated that Spartan law forbids both surrender and retreat from battle. While that belief may not have been a strict law (the Spartans had no written laws), it is indeed the general Spartan attitude. However, retreat and surrender both have their place in following Jesus (retreating from sin/temptation and surrendering to God) I believe Spartan "law" applies to us in some ways.

My example for the application of this "law" is going to be our fears as humans. First, we all fear at least SOMETHING, and we usually fear many things. Now, the classic individualist will tell us that some fears are not "bad", they are simply a part of who we are and something we have to live with. However, this is completely wrong as the only thing we should fear is God. The Bible is filled with verses on fearing the Lord, and not needing to fear ANYTHING else in this world if we have faith in Jesus. So this makes the rest of our fears problems that in one way or another affect our lives - usually for the worse. It's possible to fear many things in this world before we commit them fully to God: we can fear people, fear being alone, fear talking about certain subjects, fear certain situations, fear commitment, fear criticism, and the list goes on. It's true that generally these fears aren't "wrong" to the point where our lives will be ruined but they are not beneficial to us in any regard.

This is where Spartan law applies. The answer to a fear and problem isn't to retreat, nor surrender; instead we must stand firm and face it like King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans facing 300,000 Persian warriors. It may seem impossibly hard to seriously consider what we fear and try to correct it, and that's because it's usually a large and defining part of us. For the non-math people out there, the Spartans were faced with a ratio of one man to every one THOUSAND Persians; and that's exactly what our odds feel like trying to face fears alone. But when we turn to God, our only true fear, and love, and ask Him for His help, the odds are all in our favor. And that's exactly what we must do, turn and face our fears with God in the lead - no running away, no hiding, no giving up, just fighting. It will bring struggle, it will bring pain, and it will bring out a warrior who is stronger and better equipped to serve God without the burden of fear.

Once again this post got long but I hope I stated my point and didn't wander too much.

In short, never retreat and never surrender to fear, only fight it with God.