"Acting as Such"

I had almost given up on getting a blog post in tonight. Technical difficulties.

Earlier this evening, I heard that "A prophet is only a prophet when he is being a prophet." After a quick web search, it seems that the actual quote is "'A prophet is not always a prophet' only when he is acting as such." The concept basically is that prophets do not always act in the prophetic capacity. That is, they don't spend every waking minute prophesying and preaching. If a prophet glances up at a dark cloud and remarks "Looks like rain," that isn't the voice of the Lord declaring "There shall be rain."

After I heard the quote, I (naturally) applied it to paladins. "A paladin is only a paladin when he is being a paladin," or "A paladin is not always a paladin; only when he is acting as such." With paladins, this quote takes on a different meeting. This doesn't let paladins off the hook, as it does with prophets. Prophets do not always have to prophesy, but paladins always have to behave like a paladin if they want to remain a paladin. That is what this quote means for paladins (at least, in my opinion). If a paladin wants to retain the blessings of being a paladin, he has to keep acting like a paladin. If he acts against his code of honor, he loses his blessings, hopefully temporarily. Hopefully, the wayward paladin will quickly repent and have his paladinic powers restored. If not, the loss may be permanent, and the paladin may become an ex-paladin. A paladin only retains the blessings of being a paladin so long as he is acting as such.

The same could be said for Christians. If a Christian wants to retain the blessings of being a Christian, he has to keep acting like a Christian. If he acts against the laws of God, he loses his blessings, hopefully temporarily. Hopefully, the wayward Christian will quickly repent and have his Christian blessings restored. If not, the loss may be permanent, and the Christian may become an ex-Christian. A Christian only retains the blessings of being a Christian so long as he is acting as such.

Let's all try to remember this, especially as we're deciding how we want to act. Let us always choose to act as Christians.