It seems we all struggle with factions of every stripe and color, named and unnamed, and the struggle only gets everyone painted with the same strokes… Disgruntled, hateful, and terribly unhappy. We feel cornered, and the only thing we know to do is to come out swinging! Some win. Some lose. But we are all lost if we don’t think it through.
Why are we in a time of such discord?
I’m not sure. It’s easy to point fingers. The internet is coming of age, and so much of what we experience is found through the electronic portal to life. Elon Musk has just announced plans to launch a passel of satellites to ensure everyone has access to this portal as cheaply as possible and from every corner of the globe. What’s it called? StarLink… Our link to the stars?
In a world where tolerance is sought, there is an abundance of intolerant acts and speech. Those who scream it louder are some of the most intolerant individuals. The slogan slingers, the shouters, the marchers, the violent… All of us struggle in this new normal.
But it t’ain’t new. It’s been around a long time! (I’m thinking about Jesus. From Hosanna! to Crucify Him! It took one day for the tide to turn!)
Will it ever settle down? I’m not really sure. From localized settings to global rallying cries, it seems to be getting more vocal. Violent.
We need cooler heads that can bring to bear the real enemy and help redirect our attention to the root causes' disruptors. Click To TweetLet Me Consider This Spiritually For A Minute
Our battle is not with each other, according to the Apostle Paul. Rather, it’s with an enemy we cannot even see clearly. Nor can we physically touch it. That being said, we often turn to the “enemy” we can see. Listen! We choose to destroy someone over the color of their skin, the garb they choose to wear, or the religion they belong to! The real enemy of our souls is not any religion, people group, or philosophy. Our enemy is the devil and his cohorts, and we have strategic weapons that we need to bring out and use against him.
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,
but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world,
against spiritual wickedness in high places”
(Ephesians 6:12).
Learning to fight the true enemy and not each other is the real challenge!
Who’s Our Enemy?
Paul describes our enemies: Principalities; Powers; The rulers of the darkness of this world; spiritual wickedness in high places.
This enemy is carving up the territory
so that we all get cornered into our little world of just me, and we.
How do we fight these entities? Paul tells us in the following verses what our arsenal includes. (Emphasis mine.)
“Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:14-17).
This “whole armor of God” is necessary for winning the battle against the devil. Notice that it first speaks of the armor that is worn for defensive protection:
- Loins girt about with truth; (Truth makes you free! Truth “reproduces” truth!)
- Breastplate of righteousness; (Right Living)
- Feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; (Walk the Good News of Jesus Christ)
- Shield of faith—to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked; (Mobility)
- Helmet of salvation. (Protecting the Mind)
The offensive weapon of “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” is vital. The word is alive and powerful!
“For the Word of God is living, and powerfully working, and sharper than every two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of both soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge of the thoughts and intentions of the heart;”
Hebrews 4:12 (LITV)
We Need The Word Living In Our Lives!
The living cap to our defensive position is the offensive tool of the Word! Without the Word, we spend all of our time fighting a defensive war against the only entities we know and see. You. Me!
Without strong dependence on the authority of God’s Word to correctly identify the true enemy, we fight the problem of families corned by the world as they see it, and we lose the opportunity of correctly fighting against the real enemy.
But the Word… It is living and is powerfully working!
Why do we spend so much time in the words of the world when the Word of God has much stronger blessings for all of us?
It’s a trick of the enemy that Jesus describes, whose job is to destroy credibility, trust, and faith, to set brother against brother, parents against children, (Matthew 10:21), so that we each arrive at the place of wondering, “Who can I trust?” This creates isolation, separation, boundaries, and barriers. We become like scrapping dogs over the only bone in the yard.
What Would Jesus Say?
Jesus gives us parameters on how to live, and this is where we really struggle. If you are not spiritual it generally makes no sense.
“You have heard that it was said,
‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
But I say to you,
love your enemies,
bless those who curse you,
do good to those who hate you,
and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
that you may be sons of your Father in heaven;
for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good,
and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?
Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others?
Do not even the tax collectors do so?
Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
(Matthew 5:43-48)
Think About It
If we each loved as Jesus taught, then would we not turn this world upside down? Would we not be more productive instead of focusing on issues that separate us? Wouldn’t our words be as productive as His Word is when we speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15)?
How can we speak His Truth if we do not learn His Word?
I think the real enemy we fight is described previously, but the worst enemy is our own stinking selves. We fail to bring ourselves into a state of control by the only thing that can help us! His Spirit!
Jesus presents it like this:
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
John 14:26-27 (ESV)
Where does that Peace come from? It’s certainly not by fighting as we are fighting today!
His Peace has been left here! And it only comes from a person yielded to the Holy Spirit. Without lives full of the Spirit, this world will only know turmoil and suffering.
Please. Think this through with me. Are you living your life full of His Spirit, and do you exhibit love and peace? What a difference life would be if we all chose this path.
Praying for you! Praying for this world!