Truth in Twilight

Arthur Holmes said all truth is God’s truth. I come back to that thought when I hear wisdom in odd places. For instance, I saw Bon Jovi in concert Monday night, and he said, “I’m a firm believer that we make all decisions based on one of two things: fear or love.” Not bad, right? Holmes’ quote popped into my mind again this morning while reading the Twilight series.

I am fifty pages from the end of Breaking Dawn, the last book in the series.* To catch you up to speed on the plot without giving too much away (I hope, but don’t read ahead if you absolutely hate spoilers), the series is about two star-crossed lovers: Edward and Bella. Bella is a human who meets (and falls madly in love with) Edward. The problem is that Edward is a vampire. Although he and his family adhere to a strictly “vegetarian” diet (only sucking the blood of animals), he is attracted to human blood, especially Bella’s. Edward’s vegetarian family plays a large role in the series, and the reader learns of their unending (because they are immortal) struggles to avoid human blood in a world populated mostly by humans.In the scene I read this morning, Edward’s family has invited some vampire guests, ones who suck the blood of humans, to take a stand against a force that wants to destroy the Cullens (Edward’s family). Here is the quote I’d like to share:

“I have witnessed the bonds within this family. These strange ones deny their very natures. But in return have they found something worth even more, perhaps, than mere gratification of desire? I’ve made a little study of them in my time here, and it seems to me that intrinsic to this intense family binding - that which makes them possible at all - is the peaceful character of this life of sacrifice. There is no aggression here. There is no thought for domination… I came to witness. I stay to fight. The [evil ones] care nothing for us. They seek the death of our free will.” -Garrett in Breaking Dawn

God’s truth is loaded in Garrett’s words. Like the vampires in Twilight, temptation surrounds us on all sides in this human world. We may not crave blood, but we crave revenge, sex, attention, beauty, money, status, power, and strength. The list goes on. We crave mere gratification of our desires.

What if we strove for something more? What if we denied our very nature? What if we sought a life of sacrifice? Would we find our bonds with those around us deepen? Could a life of pursuing something higher than our own desires tighten the bonds not only with the One we pursue but with those around us, both those pursuing the same goal and those not pursuing it?

Garrett, a human-blood-sucking vampire, has witnessed the non-human-blood-sucking lifestyle while staying with the Cullens. The Cullens never asked Garrett to stop sucking human blood. They never condemned his lifestyle. They merely welcomed Garrett into their home and hunted animal prey. Without a word from the Cullens, Garrett witnessed their bond. He came to witness, but he loved what he saw, and he stayed to fight with them.

There is another scene in the series where a particular vegetarian vampire (not naming names - or gender so I will refer to this vampire as ‘it’ - because I’m trying to give away as little as possible) is hunting animals when it picks up the scent of humans. This vampire, in its quest for blood, begins pursuing the human. But when the vampire realizes it’s human blood it is running toward, it stops. Not only does the vampire stop, it immediately turns and runs in the other direction as fast as possible. It wants to get as far away from the temptation as it can.

Can we follow this example in our lives? When temptation crosses our path, can we stop? Further, can we run away as fast as we can? Can we choose a life of sacrifice over a life of self-gratification?

God has given us free will. He doesn’t take it away, but we can abandon it. Everyone has made the wrong choice too many times and found themselves enslaved to something. Everyone has had a desire turn into a need. Everyone has lost control. Everyone has found themselves without free will: a slave to poor decisions.

A life of sacrifice leads to God. It leads to freedom. Self-gratification leads to Satan. And Satan cares nothing for us. He seeks the death of our free will.

*I’ve heard plenty of complaints about Stephenie Meyers’ writing skills. As a writer, I too occasionally cringe at her word choices, but, like I said, I am fifty pages from the end of Breaking Dawn, which means I have spent about 2,000 pages with Bella, Edward, and Jacob. She must be doing something right.
Meyers has the same writing problems as writers like John Grisham or Nicholas Sparks. She isn’t a writer’s writer, but she continues to top the charts and her books continue to be made into movies. She won’t spin breathtaking sentences, but she will spellbind you with an exciting, unpredictable story. And who doesn’t want to collapse on the couch at the end of the day and just read something fun every once in a while?