Taking The Punishment Threatened

July 30, 2023 Jason Wright

“The judge will do some things to you which are thought to be terrifying; but how can he stop you from taking the punishment he threatened?” Epictetus

There’s a scene everyone remembers from Braveheart. It’s near the end of the movie, and William Wallace has been captured. He’s imprisoned, and the Princess comes to his cell, begging him to plead for mercy.

Wallace knows the brutality of the King and his executioners. He knows his death will be slow and painful. He knows the threat before him. The Princess offers him what seems to be a sedative or some other liquid meant to ease his imminent suffering. Wallace takes the liquid and then, once the Princess has left, spits it out.

Eventually, we witness a brutal re-enactment of the execution of William Wallace. Wallace’s body was stretched by horses, and he was disemboweled while still alive and conscious. I can’t even fathom the pain.

Wallace was a medieval freedom fighter. He was fighting a rebellion for freedom for his country of Scotland. His last act on this earth was one of freedom. He chose to exercise his freedom to take his punishment fully and completely the way he chose. As a result, his last act of freedom still echoes in the annals of time.

Call it what you will. Life, the universe, God, they will all throw out things that are terrifying. We lose a job. We lose a spouse. We lose a parent. We are diagnosed with cancer. Worst yet, our child is diagnosed with cancer.

We know many of these threats are looming. This can be terrifying. However, nothing can stop us from accepting life’s punishments. Doing so gives us power - great power. We can still live freely how we choose in spite of life’s judgments.

There’s a quote by Viktor Frankl about choosing our attitude can be found in his book "Man's Search for Meaning." In the book, he writes:

"Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

This quote highlights Frankl's belief that even in the most challenging and difficult situations, individuals still possess the power to choose how they respond mentally and emotionally. He developed this philosophy during his experiences as a Holocaust survivor and as a psychiatrist, and it became a central theme in his work on existential psychology. Frankl's message encourages people to find meaning and purpose in life, even amidst adversity, by exercising their freedom to choose their attitudes and responses.

It’s often argued that we don’t actually have free will because we are trapped in jobs exchanging labor for our food and well-being. How is this freedom, people will ask? This is looking at things wrong. We are free to choose how we will perform our work. What will our attitude be? You are free to do your work as though it was being done unto the Lord, as the Bible teaches.

You can do your work as though it is being done unto the betterment of your family. You can do your work as though you are a light to those around you. You are free indeed to work how you choose.

Admiral James Stockdale was captured and imprisoned during the Vietnam War. At the time of his capture, he was the highest-ranking member of the armed services imprisoned in the infamous “Hanoi Hilton.”

Stockdale was a student of Stoic philosophy. In his book “Courage Under Fire,” he details how he drew upon the teachings of Epictetus during his imprisonment.

"..I devised methods of deflecting my gaze to obscure such fear or guilt as doubtless emerged in my eyes when I temporarily lost control under questioning. You could be bashed for failure to look at the face of your interrogator; I concentrated on his left earlobe, and he seemed to get used to it-thought I was a little cockeyed, probably. Controlling your emotions is difficult but can be empowering. Epictetus: ‘For it is within you, that both your destruction and deliverance lie. The judgment seat and a prison are each a place, the one high, the other low’ but the attitude of your will wants to keep it the same if you want to keep it the same, in either place."

I hope neither you nor I end up strapped to a block awaiting disembowelment or find ourselves as prisoners of war. The likelihood of either is very slim. However, we tend to create our own prisons in our minds.

If you find yourself incarcerated, remember you are free. You have the choice to determine your attitude and how you will accept whatever life throws at you.

I’m pulling for you,

Jason

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