A Chip on the Shoulder

I came across this interesting article today.  The author was talking about certain athletes and how they achieve greatness because they play with a massive chip on their shoulder.  They take perceived disrespect and turn it into motivation to prove their critics wrong.  I guess Michael Jordan was a master at this, even making up a controversy with another player to get himself fired up.  The creation of enemies provides a reason to go to war, to make sacrifices, to push your body to the limit.  Money only motivates for so long.  After you have a big pile of it, why suit up for another game?  Proving your critics, your enemies wrong, well that never goes out of season.
The need to have enemies is not restricted to the world of sports.  Richard Nixon remembered every insult (real or imagined), every critic, every loss and used them to create the impression that he was the underdog.  Nixon needed to believe that he was an outsider, unwanted and unloved.  Historians have written whole books about why he had this persecution complex, but there is no doubt that Nixon felt the world was full of enemies and defeating them gave meaning to his life.
Over the past few weeks the media has had a feeding frenzy over the planned burning of the Koran by a minister in Florida.  Why the leader of a church with less  members than my daughter's marching band deserves national, no, international, attention is a topic for another time.  What became clear through the Burn-a-Koran-athon is that the members of this church are very similar to Jordan and Nixon.  At least to the extent that they need an enemy.  In another time and place Communism would have served their purposes, or Catholics, or Jews.  But in the early decades of the 21st century Islam easily fits the bill as public enemy #1.
There has always been a strand of Christianity that operated with a chip on its shoulder.  It is small, but real.  The book of Revelation gives voice to those who believe that to be faithful is to fight.  What exactly they are fighting changes based on time and location, but it all falls under the heading of ungodliness.  This life is a never ending battle between good and evil.  Only those who fight the good fight (and preferably are martyred) will be rewarded with eternal life.  That the battle never seems to end is of no consequence.  In fact, if the battle were to end I am not sure what these folks would do.  Heaven is supposed to be a place of peace and rest (after your enemies have been crushed) but I wonder if even the hereafter might look more like the OK Corral than a happy banquet.  I mean, how do you stop fighting when fighting is what you spent your whole life doing?
I could go on and on about how wrong I think this attitude is, but it does not really matter what I think.  In fact it only adds fuel to the fire.  Every criticism, every protest is proof that they are indeed wagging war with the forces of evil.  Nothing proves that you do have enemies better than people who scoff and mock and ridicule you.  That someone is so angry with you that you feel your life is at stake (the Florida minister took to wearing a bullet-proof vest) is an indication of just how faithful you really are.  After all, if your enemies don't want to kill you than you must not be doing enough for the cause.
I feel very conflicted about how to interact with folks who need enemies in their lives.  Part of me wants to just ignore them and not get sucked into their game.  At the same time I can't stand by and watch people try to start World War III because they believe a final showdown with the forces of evil (currently starring Islam) will bring about the promised kingdom of God.  I want to fight back, to stand up for what I think is right, but by doing so have I already lost?  Not just the cause, but also myself?  Because, rather than see these folks as sisters and brothers I have turned them into enemies, thus becoming what I sought to defeat.
I have no easy answers for these questions.  Perhaps you are working through the same issues.  If so, I would love to hear what you think is the right path to take.