One Human Soul

Can one human soul be all that important?

I had a bit of a surprise as I sat curled up on the couch watching cartoons with Wesley yesterday morning. We had put in a DVD of "The Real Ghostbusters" cartoon from the late 80s.

The episode we were watching was "Night Game". Winston has been to a baseball game and witnessed some strange phenomena so he does a little checking and finds an ancient Indian legend of an epic battle taking place once every 500 years where Good and Evil duke it out. It just so happens that the stadium is built on the very spot where this battle has always taken place.

The other three are skeptical so Winston decides to go back alone that evening and check it out. He finds himself trapped in the middle of this battle. The combatants have always used whatever was at hand for their battle so Winston convinces them to play baseball.

Meanwhile, Egon, Ray, and Peter receive a call from a frightened security guard and rush to save Winston. After blasting their way through a cosmic wall of energy they discover the supernatural baseball game getting ready to start. The gigantic umpire confronts them and informs tells them what is going on. He tells them that nobody can remain neutral in this game so Winston chose to play on the good side. However it is too late to add more players so he tells them they can stay to watch. Concerned for Winston's safety they ask what happens to the losers. The umpire assures them that nothing happens to the losers.

Now this is where my shock came. Check out this dialog which I am quoting verbatim from the show:

Peter
"What are you playin' for?"

Winston
"The fate of one human soul."

Peter
"You guys hijacked an entire stadium, not to mention our buddy, Winston, and panicked the entire city for just one soul?"

Gigantic Ghostly Umpire
"JUST ONE SOUL?? Is there anything on this puny earth as important? Isn't even one soul worth all this effort....and more?"

Now I have to say I was absolutely blown away that this little kids show, all about ghosts and the supernatural, would put forward such a powerful message! The guys ask what happens to that one soul if Evil wins, and the umpire informs them it will spend the next 500 years in torment doing Evil's bidding.

Well, now that was quite a surprise but there is more.

The game starts and Evil is cheating every chance they get. Egon approaches the umpire and points out the cheating to him. They suggest that Evil should forfeit the game.

Here is another quote that impressed me:

Gigantic Ghostly Umpire
"Evil Cheats, that's it's nature, it does whatever unscrupulous or immoral thing it has to, to win. That's why we call them 'Evil'. Only Good is not allowed to cheat. If Good adopts the ways of Evil, it becomes Evil. So if Good cheats, Evil automatically wins."

Now, the game continues for eight innings with no score on either side. Finally in the ninth inning, Evil scores a run. When Good gets up to bat they get a couple of base hits. Evil calls a time out and replaces their pitcher. A gigantic elephant looking creature takes over, firing the baseballs from it's trunk with such power nobody seems to be able to stand against him. soon there are two outs and Winston is up to bat. The guys have guessed that it is Winston's soul in the balance so they are really scared for him. The umpire casually remarks that Winston would probably have a better chance against a different pitcher. The guys decide that since they are only spectators and not actually part of the game, they can do something. They prepare a ghost trap and their plasma guns and are about to fire on the pitcher when Egon remembers the Umpire saying "nobody can be neutral in this game". He jumps in front of the other two and stops them in the nick of time.

Well now, Winston is down by two strikes with two outs already in the bag. He steps up to receive the final pitch and nails it, sending it out of the park. With two men on base he has brought three runs in to win the game!

As the ghosts begin to vanish, the four of them stand talking to the umpire. Listen to this one last exchange:

Egon
"It was a test wasn't it?"

Gigantic Ghostly Umpire
"I told you no one can be neutral. You had to choose; would you cheat for your friend, or would you trust in fair play, and let Good win on it's own terms?"

As I said before, I was really impressed by this little kids show and the message this episode held! It got me thinking; how much value do I put on a single human soul? Would I do anything to see just one soul saved? Would I spend my whole life, living for God, being a witness for Him, doing His will, if I knew that only one soul would be saved? I think too often we want to make a BIG difference, we want to see evidence of our work in many people, but no matter what we do, if even just one person is touched, it is all worth it!

I also love the lesson that no matter how easy it might be to cut corners, or do something that is not quite right, even if it is for a good cause, we automatically lose. We have to remember that we are playing for the Good team and if we stoop to anything evil, no matter how insignificant it might be, we have automatically lost! Who knows what repercussion our actions might have? We have to trust that God can win any contest if we just put our trust in Him!!