The “Brutes” that were introduced in Halo 2 are an interesting character study, demonstrating a fairly nuanced battle strategy that can make them quite difficult to take down… until you learn the secret of disrupting their tactics. While they utilize ranged weapons incredibly effectively and take cover like a disciplined soldier under normal circumstances, if you can pop their helmet off with a well-placed shot they will abandon sound reasoning and enter “berserker” mode. Once they are “enraged” in this manner, they lose all sense of battlefield perspective and begin recklessly pursuing the individual that caused it, making them much easier to outsmart and defeat. 

In the battleground of our minds, the enemy of our souls would like nothing more than to push us into acting from a place of rage and frustration than with the mind of Christ… and if we aren’t careful, we can easily mistake our anger and passion as a form of “holy zeal”. The battles we are called to fight on the behalf of the Lord will never require us to operate outside of His principles of peace, gentleness, and mercy, and the temptation to engage in these conflicts while “enraged” will never generate the righteousness of Christ. Fighting fire with fire is a fool’s errand… let’s keep our helmet of salvation fully secured today so His wisdom can prevail in our minds.

So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. James 1:19-20

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. James 3:17-18

• Like us?  Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Spotify, TikTok, or YouTube for our articles, podcasts, and videos!
• Facebook: Finding God in Video Games
• Twitter: @FindingGodIn_VG
• Instagram: Finding God in Video Games
• Podcasts on Spotify/Apple/Google: Finding God in Video Games
• TikTok: @FindingGodInVideoGames
• YouTube: Finding God in Video Games

The Master Chief carried the weight of saving the entire universe on his shoulders, so he is never found wasting his limited time or his even more limited words engaging in pointless arguments or unproductive disputes. But being a man of few words has some pretty valuable benefits… rather than expending his energy participating in lengthy dialogue trees that don’t actually resolve any of the conflicts surrounding him, he ignored the comments of others and focused on completing his mission. And because the Chief demonstrated restraint in what he chose to say and when he chose to say it, it added greater meaning and value to his words when he did choose to speak.

Thanks to all of our modern technology, the ability to communicate with each other across the entire planet has never been greater… but to our shame, we often use these gifts to engage in pointless, divisive arguments with others that only diminish the value of our words and distract us from our actual mission. Christ didn’t waste His limited time engaging in petty verbal conflicts, so let’s follow His example and avoid the pitfall of engaging in unproductive conversations that are often fueled by anger rather than guided by His Spirit to share His truth in compassion and love. Harsh words (even when true) spoken without mercy and grace doesn’t save souls… love does.

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1 

But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth. 2 Timothy 2:22-25

• Like us?  Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Spotify, TikTok, or YouTube for our articles, podcasts, and videos!
• Facebook: Finding God in Video Games
• Twitter: @FindingGodIn_VG
• Instagram: Finding God in Video Games
• Podcasts on Spotify/Apple/Google: Finding God in Video Games
• TikTok: @FindingGodInVideoGames
• YouTube: Finding God in Video Games