Gonna Get Me Some "True Grit"

Recently I watched the new "True Grit" movie. And I enjoyed it. But what it really put me in the mood for was to see the old "True Grit."


I mean: John Wayne. Need I say more?


There are some things that are just iconic and are very hard to mess with. Besides, the movie has some great lines like:

• Rooster:  "I always go backwards when I back away."
• Rooster:  "I only take one step at a time. That is why I have two feet."
• Mattie:  "Mr LaBoeuf, I have no regard for you, but I am sure you have enough for yourself to go around."
• LaBoeuf:  "You hit his lower lip? What were you aiming for? -His upper lip?"
• LaBoeuf to Rooster when he is drunk:  "You couldn't see it if you saw it." 
• Mattie about alcohol: "I would not put a thief in my mouth to steal my brains!"

I love good, old-fashioned, country wisdom. It is straight and to the point and rather colorful.


But my favorite line from the whole movie is Mattie's line which explains why she choose Rooster Cogburn: "They say he has grit. I need a man with grit."


She had other options to Rooster. She could have chosen a Marshall that looked better, or talked nicer, or smelled like something other than a distillery. But she was looking for a different characteristic. She was looking for someone with grit.


What is grit?  Grit is literally loose sand or small pieces of gravel.


But when it is used allegorically Google defines grit as:

" Clench (the teeth), esp. in order to keep one's resolve when faced with an   unpleasant or painful duty"

Are you ever faced with unpleasant or painful duties? Ones which push you past your comfort zone?

You gonna be a Mama and raise children for the Lord when the world wants to take them and dilute them and make them ineffective?

• Then you need some grit.

You gonna be go to work everyday and keep your integrity and stay faithful to your spouse and not become a slave to money and position?

• Then you need some grit.

You gonna talk about Jesus to people who will look at you and call you archaic or bigoted or non-inclusive or irrelevant?

• Then you need some grit.

You gonna pick up your six-shooter, mount your horse, and ride at the enemy (and don't be fooled, we HAVE an enemy!)? Are you gonna ride at him with all your might and go through water, fire, and storm as a soldier of the One, True, God?

• Then you NEED some GRIT!

My favorite line from the whole movie, is when Rooster's enemy, Ned Pepper taunts him with:  "That is bold talk for a one-eyed fat man!"

Isn't that the way of the enemy? He finds our faults and short-comings and then taunts us with them. And usually he doesn't bother with taunting us with made-up short-comings. If the enemy taunted us with faults that weren't true they would have no power to discourage us. They would have no ability to dissuade us.

Rooster was fat.  Rooster had one eye.

But Rooster had something else.

Grit.

So lets get us some grit. And lets grab us our gun. And lets get on our horse. And lets ride hard and fast and light.


We have us an enemy. But what is more, we have us a God Who is worth fighting for.


And then when people look at us, or when people need to find someone to fight for them, may they look around and when they see us say: "They tell me your a man (or woman) with true grit."