As mentioned previously in the post entitled Teach Me, I am struggling to learn the lesson that when God repeatedly places a concept in front of me, I am to respond with, “Lord, what do you want me to learn from this _____?” Rarely is the blank filled with the noun “song,” but I’m accepting that God is quite capable of using anything, including Lasting Lyrics to whisper His message to me. In fact, deep in my heart, I believe He finds it quite humorous to provide lessons in unexpected places. This week, after reading the phrase Burn the Ships from two different authors, I was prompted to reconsider the lyrics to a song that I’ve been hearing for years, even frequently singing along, without really focusing on the meaning of the words. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I questioned the word choice, but never pursued even a casual peek at the lyrics online, until today.
You can review the song lyrics to Burn the Ship by King and Country here, but the choice of words connects to the legend of Hernan Cortes, Spanish explorer and conquistador, who in 1519, according to John Henley, “arrived in the New World with six hundred men and, upon arrival, made history by destroying his ships. This sent a clear message to his men: There is no turning back. Two years later, he succeeded in his conquest of the Aztec empire.”
Now, I won’t drag you into the complicated conversations that occur within my own mind, but had you been privy to that vast void this past week, you might have heard something similar to this, “Lord, what in the world does Burning Ships have to do with this research on discovering the practices and habits that lead to a flourishing life? I’m attempting to solve the mystery of how to equip college students to navigate the complicated journey known as life; and all the speedbumps and detours they will encounter along the way. How does setting things on fire fit in? There was that whole idea of Finding Your Flame, but I’m not making a clear connection here.” (Do you now have a picture of all the questions I ask in the margins of the books I’m reading)?
So, now that Mark Batterson and Michael D. Lindsay have added their references to Burn the Ships, I’m stuck in this paradox between one set of resources that desires to encourage us to be “All In” while “Making the Most of Life’s Transitions,” and another set that is asking me to consider the need to Take It Slow. I’m so confused about knowing when to Burn My Ships and when to become Slow and Quiet!! I’m really hoping that in the comments below, someone is willing to offer clarity on how they formulate the best approach based on the situation. But for now, I am choosing to focus on why we might be encouraged to Burn the Ships.
In his book All In, Mark Batterson uses the Cortes story to explain that there may be times when God asks of us to follow the example from Scripture when Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac. Batterson declares for us to, “Put your Isaac on the altar! Then, and only then, will you see what God can do. He cannot give back what you do not give up…Nine times out of ten, failure is resorting to Plan B when Plan A gets too risky, too costly, or too difficult.” Since the Enneagram 5 doesn’t like risk and prefers to see Beyond the Headlights, I’m not too keen on placing my issues on any altar; however, he does force me to consider, “That’s why most people are living their Plan B. They didn’t Burn the Ships. Plan A people don’t have a Plan B.”
If you know me, you are probably well aware that not only do I have a Plan A and a Plan B, you might as well go on through more of the alphabet. I feel conflicted when Batterson says, “There are moments in life when we need to Burn the Ships to our past. We do so by making a defining decision that will eliminate the possibility of sailing back to the old world we left behind.” I grasp that times exist when we need to create Necessary Endings, but I’m unsure about Burning the Ships, so please help a friend dig deeper into this concept by adding your thoughts below.
*The morning after I composed this post, a pastor mentioned Cortes in his message!
References:
Henley, J. (2018, May 31). Burn Your Ships: A History Lesson on How to Be a Great Leader. The Center for Sales Strategy. Retrieved from https://blog.thecenterforsalesstrategy.com/burn-your-ships-how-to-be-a-great-leader
Lindsay, D.M. (2021). Hinge moments: Making the most of life’s transitions. IVP Books.
Smallbone, J.D., Smallbone, L. Hales, M. & Mosley, S. (2018). Burn the Ships. [King & Country]. On Burn the Ships. [Audio file]. Warner Chappell Music, Inc, Universal Music Publishing Group. Retrieved from https://www.forkingandcountry.com/blogs/lyrics/burn-the-ships
Flourishing @ Life 