Fire and Ice: The World up in Flames

As Nobel Prize winner George Bernard Shaw once said in his novel Man and Superman, “There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart's desire. The other is to get it.” As Shaw illustrates, desire is an injurious characteristic of man and an unfortunate aspect of life – it brings about tragedy no matter what, whether desires are unfulfilled or fulfilled. Robert Frost similarly commented on the adverse effects of desire, but on a much larger scale than merely life: Frost says in his poem Fire and Ice that the entire world shall end in “fire” – fire being a metaphorical representation of desire, while he also refers to “ice” or hatred as another possible cause of the end of the world. In a way, both Shaw and Frost are right. The end of the world will more likely be brought about by means of fire or desire than by ice or hatred, for desire has been the driving force behind all destruction to date. The destructive qualities of fire or desire may be seen in all the ways in which it wreaks havoc on the world today. Firstly, one of the many ways in which desire manifests its powers of destruction is through adultery – a sin that is brought about by desire and desire only. The destructive quality of this act always initiated by desire is noted in what many Christians consider one of the sets of guidelines for salvation: the Ten Commandments. God calls for man to avoid the desires fulfilled in adultery as he commands, “You shall not commit adultery” (Ex 20:14). In giving in to the desires of adultery, man is undermining God’s commands that are meant to guide man away from death and destruction and to heaven. Further evidence of the devastation of adultery is found when Jesus condemns not only those who commit adultery but also those who look lustfully at another woman. Jesus says, “‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall not commit adultery.” But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart’” (Mt 5:27-28). Additionally, adultery also serves to destroy the basic social institution of man and tear at the fabric of mankind – the family. For it is said, “Those who trouble their household inherit the wind, and fools become slaves to the wise of heart” (Prv 29:11). Thus, when man allows the desire to partake in adultery overtake him, man is considered a fool for bringing about destruction to the family, the basic foundation of life. The damage that the desire that leads to adultery brings about to not only the adulterers’ hopes of salvation as well as their families parallels the destruction that desire may eventually bring to the world in its entirety. Moreover, a second way in which desire exhibits its destructive qualities is through the desire of man to fall to idolatry that exists in the world today – particularly in corporate America. First, the Ten Commandments, which act as a handbook for avoiding the destruction of the Earth and instead gaining favor with the Lord, calls out idolaters for desiring to follow another god as opposed to the one true God. God commands, “I am the LORD your God…You shall not have other gods beside me. You shall not make for yourself an idol…you shall not bow down before them or serve them” (Ex 20:2-5). Thus, when man desires to stray from God and take the easier path of worshipping a tangible and inanimate idol, that man is also straying from salvation and eternal life and heading rather in the direction of man’s destruction. The book of Hebrews delves deeper into the issue of man’s desire to worship other gods – specifically, the worship of money over God. It is said, “Let your life be free from love of money but be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never forsake you or abandon you’” (Heb 13:5). Man is to not allow money to overpower him, for God is the true source of love and salvation. The consequences of the desire to idolize money rather than serve God is found in the First Letter to Timothy, when it is said that “Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation and into a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into ruin and destruction” (1 Tm 6:9). This applies especially to modern-day corporate America in that many men part of the business world of the United States become enamored with money and constantly desire more and more. However, as stated in the First Letter to Timothy, this overpowering desire to idolize money will lead to the destruction of man. Furthermore, a third way in which desire displays its ill effects on the fate of mankind is through the desire of power, particularly in a governmental, tyrannical setting. First, the Letter to the Romans contains the limits of the power of man. For it is said, “Let every person be subordinate to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been established by God” (Rom 13:1). Therefore, man should not allow the desire for all-encompassing power to overcome him as only God is meant to have that kind of authority. The foolishness of those who desire power and exercise tyrannical rule over others is further expressed in Proverbs 28, when it is said that “The less prudent the rulers, the more oppressive their deeds. Those who hate ill-gotten gain prolong their days” (Prv 28:16). The ultimate punishment God administers to cruel leaders who desire power over anything appears in the story of the just shepherd. God says, “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the flock of my pasture – oracle of the LORD. Therefore, thus says the LORD…against the shepherds who shepherd my people…You have not cared for them, but I will take care to punish your evil deeds” (Jer 23:1-2). God indicates that there shall be destruction for all shepherds who mislead his sheep – or, in other words, all leaders who oppress his people. As Robert Frost said in his poem Fire and Ice, many people may claim that ice, the metaphorical representation of hate, is predominantly responsible for destruction in the past and destruction yet to come at the end of the world while fire or desire falls second thereto. They may justify this claim saying that hate is ever present in the worst moments in history – perhaps using the Holocaust as an example where hatred was the domineering force that led to the horrors and crimes against humanity that occurred within that expanse of time. However, though hatred did play its part in the horrors in all the history of the world, desire was what fueled that hatred as well as, in many instances, what lead to that hatred. Would hatred even exist without desire? It seems as though the answer is no. For example, Hitler’s desire for power and for his ideal Aryan race to rule the world was what led to his cruel and evil acts of pure hatred against the Jewish people. If not for this desire for power, he may have never advanced to hatred and the massacre of the Jews. As illustrated by showcases of destruction in the not only in the past and but also in the present, George Bernard Shaw and Robert Frost were correct in pinning the tragedies of life as well as the eventual destruction of all mankind on fire or desire. Desire – the driving force behind all instances of destruction in the world – is much more likely to bring about the destruction of the world than hatred. In more metaphorical terms, fire – not ice – will be the one to engulf the world in its flames and bring about its destruction.