“Say ‘uncle’!” I don’t hear kids use this phrase much anymore. In fact, I’m not sure my generation even used the phrase much at all. I think I first heard it on a television show when I was a kid. Perhaps it was on an episode of “The Andy Griffith Show” when poor Opie had to face a bully at school. Lest you think otherwise, let me state for the record that I was watching reruns. I’m not quite old enough to have watched the originals. At least not the black and white episodes...
Researching the origin of the phrase was an unsatisfactory exercise. No one seems to know for sure where originated. I found a very lofty guess that it stemmed from some Latin phrase, and another guess that reckoned it to be the invention of schoolboys in America
Of course, most people who have heard the phrase know what it means. It means to surrender; to give up; to acknowledge defeat in a most verbal, public, humiliating and despairing way. For me, the phrase always calls up the image of poor Schwartz being tortured by the nefarious Scut Farkus in “A Christmas Story”. “Yellow eyes! He had yellow eyes!”
I’ve been thinking about this phrase this morning because I’ve been feeling all of those emotions associated with being bullied into submission. I have a bully in my life and he’s been picking on me more than usual lately. My bully is most commonly known as the devil. No, not a guy running around in red tights with a red cape and a long tail and pitchfork. I’m talking about the prince of the power of the air, the father of lies, the accuser, the destroyer, the adversary, etc., etc. The Bible says that he’s my enemy and that he prowls around like a lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). He’s been prowling around me quite a bit lately, and he plays dirty. He’ll use anything and anyone to bring me to the point of discouragement and hopelessness, even people that are close to me (and most of them don’t even know they’re being used). All the while, he speaks into my mind, “Say uncle! Go on, say uncle!”
Just in the last few weeks, between physical problems, infighting among folks I care about, bureaucratic red tape, financial stress, and an ever-increasing number of “flies in the ointment”, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been tempted to say “uncle.” “I don’t need this stress,” “I just want a ‘normal’ life,” “I’m too exhausted to care.” “I should just quit.” “UNCLE!!!”
And yet, I have not raised a white flag…
Part of the reason is because God made me stubborn. I don’t like to give up. This can be a good thing or a bad thing, but in this case, it’s definitely a plus. Another part of the reason is my thinking of all the blood, sweat, and tears that have been poured into me by many and about the grace that’s been extended to me to get me where I’m at – too much to just walk away.
However, the biggest reason is because there is a funny thing about bullies. If you really examine them, you’ll see they make a lot of noise and can even inflict some pretty serious pain, but they’re not really tough enough to defeat you unless you give up, give in, and say “uncle.” Their power lies in their ability to evoke fear in their victims. Ralphie figured this out the day he’d had enough and dove into Scut Farkus like the Secret Service protecting the President. Ralphie realized he could not only refuse to give up, but could give Scut the “what for.”
Now, my bully is much more devious and powerful than Scut Farkus. I can’t give him the “what for.” But, I personally know someone who can: Jesus. He’s not just a casual acquaintance. We’re tight, He and I. He’s with me all the time. That sounds so cliché, but it’s true. Comparing His power with that of the devil is like comparing a locomotive with a wind-up toy from a children’s fast food meal. And that’s actually probably a pretty weak comparison.
I’ve got a much more powerful Defender with me constantly. I forget this sometimes. The devil likes when I forget this. But then, in the knick of time, I remember. Thank God, I remember. Then I stand back and watch the bully say, “Uncle!”
I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. ~Psalm 27:13-14, KJV
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