Our Struggle

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Eph. 6:12-13 (NAS)

My husband is a huge J. Budziszewski fan. He recently read me a quote from Budziszewski's book The Revenge of Conscience that really got me thinking.a lot about evil and how it continually plays out in our world. Budziszewski says, "Evil must rationalize, and that is its weakness. But it can, and that is its strength."

Isn't that so true? Don't we always rationalize our thoughts and actions, whether they are wrong or right...just in case our consciences try to flare up as we're doing something? God gave all humans consciences for a reason...to help us try to follow His moral law. But, when we become Christians, our consciences begin to plague us on a whole new level, and we enter into a spiritual battle that we didn't even know existed before.

Though the verses above are beloved by many and quoted often, sometimes I think we do not realize the full implications that verse 12 has in our daily lives. I think we all realize that Satan tempts us, deceives us, and generally wants to defeat us. But, much of the time, I think we forget how smart, savvy, and subtle he is.

I guess I am a little shocked at the things that distract us, taking our focus away from what is important. Even though I think busyness is a tool Satan can use against us, I think one of the greatest tools he uses against us can be EACH other...fellow believers.

What is that you say? "There is no way Satan can use a fellow believer for his work!" No, Satan has no power over Christ followers...but, I do think that Satan has no greater joy than causing strife in true Bible-believing churches and among Christians. Look at the news lately. There are a wide variety of thoughts among Christians regarding all kinds of political practices and problems. And, it is really no secret that good Christians disagree on many things.from theology and doctrine, to politics, to proper entertainment for Christians and how we should act in social situations. Can't you just hear Satan whispering bad thoughts about one believer into the ears of another one? And can't you just see how easy it is to rationalize our bad thoughts about other believers when we disagree? When we are convinced that we are right and the other person is wrong, we will do just about anything to make ourselves feel like our stance is okay and that our actions are merited.

Maybe the one way to deal with this issue is to take to heart that God is the only One who has all the facts about every situation. A beloved pastor friend of mine once said, "All of us Christians are going to get to heaven and realize how wrong we have been on pretty much everything." Now, that is a sobering thought, isn't it?

It's a good thing that God gives us the armor of God in Ephesians 6:13 to help us battle the Evil One. If you look further in Ephesians 6, we can protect ourselves with Truth and Righteousness, being unwilling to think bad thoughts about other believers and not rushing to judgments until we have the facts of a situation. After all, we need to make sure we are blameless in our own actions before God!

Thank you, Lord, for giving us the armor of God to battle the Evil One and our own sinful natures. Convict us, Lord, when we are tempted to rationalize our thoughts and actions against others.including other believers who belong to You and are working on our side for Your Kingdom. Amen!

Angie Brillhart