This may be a crazy question, but have you ever been around someone who seems to be determined to ‘Destroy’ you, no matter what the cost? Let me assure you, it ain’t a whole hell of a lot of fun. No matter what you say or do, it seems as though you have become a target ‘Slated for destruction’ as far as this other individual is concerned.
I am reminded of an old episode of the original Star Trek series dating back to 1967 titled “Arena”. It was all about how Captain Kirk of the ‘USS Enterprise’ was whisked away and deposited on an unknown planet, where he had to battle an alien creature known as the ‘Gorn’ in a battle to the death. The Gorn was a man sized reptilian/ humanoid creature with a head resembling a dinosaur’s. A particularly nasty dinosaur, I might add. You see, the Gorn and his fellow creatures had attacked a human colony on a planet known as Cestus 3, resulting in a devastating number of casualties. Captain Kirk and his landing party discovered the destroyed settlement upon a routine visit. Long story short, another alien party, know the as the Metrons, interferes in the conflict and decides to pit Captain Kirk against the captain of the ‘Gorns’ in what is intended to be a battle to the death to determine a clear cut winner. All of this taking place on a planet void of all other life, but containing numerous objects and materials which would enable each combatant to be able to destroy their opponent. The winner of the contest would be allowed to go free along with their ship and crew. In many ways it were as though the two combatants were fighting in an arena, with spectators looking on.
The opening scene of this classic confrontation begins with Captain James Tiberius Kirk suddenly finding himself on the boulder strewn planet, staring at his fearsome opponent who is staring back from about 50 meters away. It is obvious that Kirk is shocked at its frightening appearance and sounds which are similar to some old guy having a real tough time clearing his throat after 50 years of chain smoking filterless cigarettes.
Kirk opens the battle by attacking the Gorn the same way he would a human, but soon realizes that the Gorn is just too big and strong to take down with a shot to the jaw or a flurry of punches to the solar plexus. Another thing Kirk discovers is that he is a lot quicker than the Gorn. As long as Kirk can stay out of the Gorn’s reach, he can outmaneuver him at will. While the battle rages, the Metrons allow the crew of the Enterprise to observe the battle from the bridge of the ship. Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy look on and provide color commentary during the course of the battle.
After numerous attempts on the part of each combatant to squash each other with boulders, the Gorn uses a communication device provided to psych Kirk out with offers to kill him mercifully and quickly, if he would only throw in the towel and quit. That’s a hell of an offer, Mr. Gorn. Needless to say, Kirk doesn’t bite.
It is at this point that Kirk begins to notice various materials lying around which can be utilized to build a makeshift canon, and promptly begins to gather what he needs to construct it. At this point Spock realizes that Kirk has a plan and just needs to implement it. The big question, as Spock surmised, was whether or not Kirk had sufficient time to complete the task, all the while being relentlessly pursued.
Sure enough, Kirk pulls it all together last minute, firing the homemade canon in the Gorn’s general direction, wounding him severely, but not fatally.
Now, for the moment of truth. It is now up to Kirk to finish him off by driving a crude dagger into his chest, but just as he was about to ram it home, Kirk decides to spare him, exhibiting the virtuous trait of mercy which the Metrons consider the sign of an advanced civilization. This resulted in the release of Kirk and his crew, to continue their mission “To Boldly going where no man has gone before”. Way to go, Captain Kirk, you did it again!
Well, what can we all learn from the actions of Kirk? I think that the fact that he somehow reasoned that even though what the Gorns did to the human settlement was terrible, perhaps they thought they were somehow ‘In the right’, and felt they were justified in doing so. Not that the Gorns had the patience to peaceably work things out. No matter. Bottom line, Kirk found a way to be merciful, even though the Gorns were jerks for what they did. Kinda like the way God has shown mercy towards us regardless of the fact that the human race continues to be a bunch of jerks to him. Not all though. Some actually do get it and are willing to be reconciled to God by accepting his ‘terms of surrender’ before it’s too late. There are those that have actually turned away from their evil behavior, publicly admitting to believing that Jesus is the one and only savior of the world, and obediently being baptized so that their multitude of sins can be washed away, once and for all.
In a situation where somehow a spouse justifies terminating the marriage because of their partner’s past mistakes, one must ask a few questions first. Just what did they do that was so horrible that somehow they cannot be forgiven, no matter what? Another thing the accusing spouse needs to ask themselves, and that is whether they have been the perfect husband or wife over the years. The fact that they have kept detailed records of their spouse’s past mistakes is a HUGE MISTAKE in and of itself. It is a ‘Marriage Killer’ imo. Just as the Gorns jumped to conclusions and dropped bombs on the human settlement they considered as invaders, bitter and unforgiving spouses themselves behave like Gorns and justify ‘Nuking’ their partners and their marriage, much to the sorrow of their family, their friends, and worst of all, God himself. It really is a ‘No Win’ scenario across the board. They are in reality, nuking themselves in the process. One must always remember, before they ‘press the button’, and that is the ‘fallout’ from a nuclear detonation is often worse than the explosion itself. The residual effects can last a lifetime.
In another ‘Star Trek’ adventure known as ‘The Wrath of Khan’, the prospect of a ‘No Win Scenario’ is central to the story. When tested in a virtual ‘No Win’ simulation known as the Kobayashi Maru test during his ‘Starfleet’ training, Jim Kirk tampered with the programs software, allowing him to somehow BEAT the no win scenario, unorthodox as his solution may have been. Kirk’s ‘outside of the box’ solution won him a commendation for original thinking. In reality though, what he did was a form of cheating, which many in this world do and think they can get away with, but in the end will have to come before God and ‘face the music’. Ultimately in the climactic final scenes of the motion picture, Mr. Spock was faced with his own real life ‘No Win Scenario’, during which he sacrificed his own life to save everyone else on the Enterprise from certain destruction. His solution required a sacrifice, which was his own life by exposing himself to massive amounts of radiation in a last ditch effort to save the ship and crew.
It would seem to me that God, when faced with a ‘No Win’ situation that men put themselves into by sinning against him, came up with his solution, and yes, it required a sacrifice. A really big one. He gave us his Son Jesus to die on the cross as a ransom that we ourselves could never pay. Jesus came to our rescue, and when all seemed lost, snatched victory out of the jaws of certain defeat!
So go ahead and nuke everyone around you including yourself, Mr. or Mrs. ‘Gorn’. You may think you’re winning, but in reality you are nothing but a big fat loser. Personally, I’m on board with Jesus, because he gave his life up for me in order to bring the ‘Warp Engines’ back on line, and propell me to safety, far away from the hell that is going to be unleashed upon you and everyone who thinks like you because of your unwillingness to forgive anybody, except yourself of course.
Glory be to God in the highest, forever and ever, amen!
By Lucien Alexander Delean aka ‘Looch’,
or in this case ‘Captain Kirk’
October 16th, 2025