(ThyBlackMan.com) Who remembers Hasbro’s Battle Beasts?!! They were these little anthropomorphic toy figures that were no more than 3 inches tall. Aside from being armed to the teeth (metaphorically and literally!), the coolest feature of these little creatures was the emblem that each one bore. Each belonged to a “clan” which was revealed on a little black square adhered to their torso.
Akin to the Transformers toyline in its latter late 80’s years, if you pressed your finger against said square, the heat from your finger caused revealed which clan it belonged to. Unlike Transformers which were relegated to being 
either an Autobot or Decepticon, these battling beasts belonged to elements of earth such as wood, fire and water. Pretty dope, right?!! I thought so.
I bring this childhood memory of mine to light as an introduction to a few more spiritual concepts that I’d like to flesh out.
The first one is a reminder of how powerful we are by comparing us to what many believe to be the most dangerous and destructive element: fire. I came onto the Avatar: The Last Airbender (the Nickelodeon cartoon series… NOT its pale-in-comparison theatrical counterpart!) bandwagon a little late, so please excuse the late references as I speak on the Fire Nation. They were depicted as the antagonists of the story for the most part; a role which their association to fire helped sear into the forefront. Although we don’t normally think of fire as a living thing, I’d like to draw one simple connection to what most living things need to survive: oxygen.
Oxygen sustains life and is this temporal world’s tangible reflection of the “spirit or breath” of God which He breathed into man. From our breath, we are able to create words that can either build and destroy a thing or bring life to and kill the spirit of a person. Case in point, when someone harms us, often times we will say that we were “burned” by said person.
As it does for all life on this planet, oxygen also sustains fire. The main reason we douse a fire with water is because as it smothers the flames, it separates them from the oxygen molecules in the air. Likewise, carbon dioxide can be used to suppress an open fire while a contained fire can be extinguished by simply covering it up to deprive it of its life source.
As such, fire is alive! Much like us, it needs oxygen and can serve as an agent of death. So be careful with what words you breathe on your fellow man!
In the spirit of the air, I’d like to use it as a medium to transition to the element of water. Have you ever wondered what causes water to build up in a street despite the fact that it has a sewage drain? Better yet, how does simply pushing down on the slotted drain in your kitchen allow water to sit in the sink without it flowing through the ever-present holes in said drain?!! In both cases, the water pools together right over the drains in what seems like yet another case of anthropomorphism as we attribute its state to an act of complete defiance!
As it turns out, these slots serve a dual purpose. Not only must water flow INTO them, but a flux of air must come OUT OF them as well. These slots maintain balance through displacement. As long as an equal amount of air moves out as water moves in, the water drains. While it is easy to physically see the water moving in a fully functioning drainage system, what we do NOT see (which is often the more important piece much like our spiritual walk) is the air being shifted out to balance it.
When the air’s route is cut off and cannot be released, the drain clogs and the water is at a literal stand still.
But this is about spiritual principles, right?!! Well, when it comes to the Living Water (Jesus) and your HEIR (access to His Kingdom inheritance via God’s Holy Spirit) – we must have an equal balance in our lives. The Holy Spirit is quickened by the Word we have written on our hearts, yes? Is it not also the Holy Spirit Who provides inspiration for men who wrote the Bible?:
‘All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.’ – 2 Timothy 3:16
Furthermore, is not the Word and Jesus Christ one and the same according to John 1? If you agree with these tenets, then don’t they lend themselves to a need to have the Word written on your heart to fully activate the Holy Spirit – ripe with fruit (Galatians 5:22-23) and gifts (1 Corinthians 12:8-10)?
Else, we are nothing more than statically standing water – full of dynamic and hydroelectric potential yet stagnate and stale in our purposed ministries. SELAH.
Staff Writer; Reggie Legend
Can find more about this writer over at; http://www.steelwaterspoetry.com
Also available as a Keynote Speaker – Book him Today; Speakerwiki – Reggie Legend