When JRR Tolkien set out to write a sequel to The Hobbit, he ran into a couple of obstacles. First, he never intended to write a follow up to the story and felt like he had no place to go. That said, his public was calling for more information and stories about Hobbits and Middle-earth. Secondly, his background of Middle-earth, The Silmarillion, was never a great narrative, and without a cohesive plot, it kept getting bogged down. His publishers were not excited about going to press with it.
Backed into a corner, Tolkien began thinking creatively how to write another Middle-earth novel. He began wondering about the ring Bilbo found in Gollum’s cave. What if that ring was far more important than just a magical ring, allowing its bearer to turn invisible? So began the backstory to his trilogy novel, The Lord of the Rings.
Briefly, Sauron is the villain who learns the craft of forging rings by the elves. He himself made a series of powerful rings to present them as gifts to the rulers of Middle-earth: men, elves and dwarves. Then, in the fires of Mt. Doom, he forged the One Ring of Power. In it he poured all of his malice, hatred and wicked evil. As long as he wore the One Ring, he controlled all of those who wore the rings he gave as gifts.
The Ring, though, had been lost. As Tolkien began writing his sequel, he decided that the simple ring Bilbo found in Gollum’s cave was the One Ring of Sauron. Because it was in the possession of Sméagol/Gollum, it gave him an unnatural long life and lived some 500 years with the Ring. But the Ring’s “unnatural long life” corrupted Sméagol and malformed him into the hideous creature, Gollum. When Sméagol found the Ring he was one of the river folk like a Hobbit, but after 500 years of holding onto the Ring, he was the nightmarish creature, Gollum. Bilbo, who carried the Ring for sixty years, was on the same path as Gollum. It was giving him an unnaturally long life, but it was already beginning to rot Bilbo from the inside.
So comes the decisive moment in Tolkien’s mind, explored at the Council of Elrond. The Ring of Sauron will only destroy and can never be used for good. It corrupts all who wear it because it has one Master. And it, the Ring, is trying to return to its Master. While the story unfolds, those who sought to use the Ring, even for good, were utterly corrupted the Ring, as powerful as it is, can only be used for evil purposes. It cannot save, but only destroy.
Herein, I fear, is where Christians have struggled and even failed. The temptation to wear the evil Ring on our finger is almost irresistible. In our desire to accomplish good, how many times have we chosen evil as the venue for our crusade, and then justified our behavior? Gossip, anger, lies, deception, lust, abuse, backstabbing, etc. have corrupted our so-called, “higher moral ground.” Even more so when we’ve partnered with people and organizations standing against our core values because we fear without their help we won’t win the “war.”
Paul was concerned about such alliances. In a passage often mistaken for instructions on marriage he questions Christians seeking union with pagans. Yes, 2 Corinthians 6 can be applied to marriage, but nowhere does Paul mention “marriage” in the passage. He does ask a question: “What do righteousness and wickedness have in common” (2 Cor. 6:14b). His question is rhetorical, because the answer is “Nothing.” Righteousness and evil have absolutely nothing in common. So when the righteous decide to use evil as a means to for good, only more evil unfolds. When the righteous chose to wear the evil Ring, instead of the good we hope to accomplish, we end up being used by the evil. Once used, destruction always follows in its wake. Always.
So the next time you think that using evil to accomplish good, think about the times Frodo slipped the Ring on his finger. Because when you sat there (reading the book or watching the movies) and was telling Frodo to stop using the Ring, ask yourself why we ourselves are so willing to put it on our finger?
Soli Deo Gloria!
(i.e., only God is glorified!)