The Warrior's Choice

I've brought this one back, because I found a verse to go with it, and it's very appropriate...

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 -
“I call on heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have presented you with life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore, choose life, so that you will live, you and your descendants, loving Adonai your God, paying attention to what he says and clinging to him –– for that is the purpose of your life! On this depends the length of time you will live in the land Adonai swore he would give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Try to imagine with me a warrior, valiant in battle and as high in rank as he can be. His raiment is rich, and his armor is shined and polished daily by others chosen for the task. On his shoulders hangs a rich cloak denoting his rank, the most embellished gold and silver holding it in place. His sword, exquisitely shaped and sharper than a razor, hangs at his back from a baldric covered in goldwork, silverwork, and studded with precious jewels. On him, he carries several weapons, each as deadly as the other. His shield is of the best quality, bearing his noble crest and without crack or dent. On his head is a magnificent helm, with feathers in it.
He serves no king, only himself. If he has any kingdom, it is as the grass of the field, which withers away with the beginning of cold. It is likely to be swept aside by the forces of a more powerful empire.
He is fighting for his life in battle. It is dark, he has few men left, and he is wounded badly. He stumbles, unable to keep his balance, and his remaining men abandon him for dead.
He keeps quiet, hoping to fool the enemy into thinking he is dead, his sword ready under a relaxed hand on the ground.
An enemy discovers him and promptly disarms him. He does not cry out in fear, but instead snarls at his enemy with a gleam in his eye. The enemy king comes and inspects the scene.
“Bring him before me at the camp.” he says, “Let him have his sword.”
The warrior finds himself being carried roughly by his upper arms by two dark soldiers, one of which is carrying his sword. He struggles, but is too tired and feeble to make any difference.
When he is thrown to his knees before the enemy king, and his sword is dropped in front of him, he is barely strong enough to grasp its hilt and drag it nearer. The king steps closer.
“You are broken,” the king gloats, “and you are unable to leave this place without death taking you.”
He wrenches the sword from the warrior’s weak hands and swings upwards.
“Have you no mercy?” cries the warrior in dismay.
“Mercy? I have none.” the king says.
“Do you not take prisoners for ransom?” the warrior demands.
“Not until the high king himself offers me his life.”
The warrior does not know of this high king, but he suspects this action is unlikely to save him now.
“Remember me when you scream with agony in hell.” the king requests, just before he gives the life-ending blow to the once mighty warrior.

Now, imagine the same warrior with the same rank he started with, all the same equipment, and the same short-lived kingdom at his command. He is kneeling before the highest king in all the world. He draws his beautiful sword and holds it flat in his hands for a moment, then takes the handle with both his hands and drives it into the ground. The mighty warrior throws himself prostrate before the king in complete submission.
He does not know this king very well. The king would do very well to take up the warrior’s sword and end his life, and the warrior knows this. He is not afraid to risk it. He is even willing to give his life, if it pleases the king.
The king pulls the sword from the earth.
“Rise.”
The warrior obeys.
“If you wish, you may give your allegiance to me.” the king says, “But if you do not choose to do so, you will go back to your armies and continue to fight me. The decision will still be open to you. If you choose allegiance, you will join my armies at the rank you have now, and you will be able to call on me for aid. What say you?”
“Everything that I am is yours.”
The king smiles, handing the sword back to him.
“Keep this, and remember me by it.”

One king offers death, the other life. It is your choice to which you trust your allegiance.