At a soaring 844 feet tall, the Devon Tower stands proud in the Oklahoma City skyline. On June 14, 2022 a 23 year-old by the name of Maison was found free-climbing the monstrous building. This meant he had no ropes, no safety nets, and no back-up plan. Helicopters circled the building, while police officers watched from afar. Only a pair of rock climbing shoes and some chalk for his hands aided his ascent. While this daring stunt caught a lot of attention, he didn’t do it for “fun.” Rather, his motive was to protest abortion in the state of Oklahoma. Even his alias is the “pro-life Spiderman.” He stated in an interview that he wanted to stop abortion by helping women and families get the proper help they need.
Actions like this help us understand that strong convictions lead to bold actions. This very principle has led many to participate in riots, debates, and even non-hostile stunts such as climbing the tallest skyscraper in Oklahoma City with nothing but your hands and feet. When we are fueled by a deep conviction, action is surely to follow.
Jesus, in addressing His listeners, stated that we ought to have strong convictions about various aspects of life. Especially in the record of His sermon concerning Matthew 5:21-48, He discusses areas such as anger, worship, lust, immorality, oaths, and livelihood with mankind. In several of these topics, Jesus utilizes the extreme of circumstances: “if your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out” or “if your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off.” While Jesus isn’t literally commanding His listeners to cut off their hands and pluck out their eyes, He is most definitely stressing the importance of having deeply rooted convictions and allowing the necessary actions to take place.
When we have a sin problem, we must reflect upon the actions we are taking to relieve the sin. If those preventative actions are not present (or not working), perhaps there is something wrong with the level of conviction we have concerning various sins. Once again, strong convictions lead to bold actions. While Maison had a deep conviction about abortion in his heart, his actions ultimately verified his beliefs.
Tyler King
