A Lesson from Alexander the Great’s Army

Alexander the Great marched to the wall of the ginormous castle, and yelled for the ruler.

The man finally showed up and Alexander hollered, “Surrender!”

The ruler looked at him and at the small army gathered behind him. Then he threw back his head and laughed. “Surrender? To you?”

“Yes,” was the confident reply.

The leader’s face turned purple. “No!” he roared. “I will never surrender to you! Now begone!”

Alexander turned. “Men,” he ordered, “get in a single file. Right here, just like this. Yep, uh-huh, good.”

They were facing a cliff, the bottom of which was quite a distance below and littered with jagged rocks.

“Now march,” Alexander the Great commanded.

As the people in the castle gaped, the soldiers obeyed: they simply marched to the cliff’s edge and dropped to their deaths below.

After ten men had fallen, Alexander ordered the rest to stop. He turned back to the castle. “I repeat, sir, surrender!”

The ruler gave in and Alexander the Great captured the castle without a fight.

Why? Because the ruler realized that, even though Alexander’s army was small, they were committed and obedient; he and his men didn’t stand a chance.

/~/

A preacher at a revival meeting shared this story (which I wrote in my own words, adding dialogue and stuff) and asked, “Are we that committed to God?”

Are we?

Would we willingly march to our deaths, rather than disobey Him or deny Him? Would we follow Him anywhere and everywhere? Would we do everything He tells us to do, even if we know it’ll hurt and cost us? Are we powerful (by/in/through Him), even though we’re small, because of our devotion and obedience to Him?

Alexander’s men were absolutely devoted to him, a mere human. Shouldn’t we–God’s people, God’s children–be absolutely devoted to Him, since He’s, ya know, God?