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“Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.”
– Sun Tzu
Scripture makes plain, on numerous occasions, that we are in a war.
Right now.
Whether we perceive it or not, the battle rages on and its combatants do not wait for our recognition before proceeding from one objective to the next.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.
Ephesians 6:12
The preceding citation, often quoted, is given in the context of Paul’s admonition to be strong in faith and to clothe ourselves in the full armor of God. One of the principles I find implicit through this and other areas of scripture is that we win or lose our own battles in the mind. Essentially, we have decreed victory or defeat over ourselves before we’ve even taken to the field… and personally, it has all too often been the words of the enemy ringing in my ears.
Pointing back to my original citation of Sun Tzu, we can – and do – know our enemy. In fact, we have known him from of old and, despite the passing of the ages, his strategy and tactics remain unchanged. The question is, do we ply this information to our advantage?
Understanding that each one of us has our given areas of weakness or vice, and that the adversary uses these against us to great effect, it’s actually something far more rudimentary I want to address; the nature of his ministry.
Does the use of the word ministry surprise you?
Odds are you haven’t really thought about it in these terms, but our enemy, the Devil, absolutely has a ministry and it is a 180 degree polar-opposite of that of the Lord of Hosts. Where God ministers truth, the adversary ministers lies, where God ministers peace, the adversary ministers war, where God ministers love, the adversary ministers hate and where God ministers life, the adversary ministers death…
The enemy’s core strategy, that is, the root of his ministry, is division. His goal is ultimately to divide and separate man from God, and there are numerous means through which he accomplishes this. I wish to address 3 of these that seem to be strikingly prevalent.
I thank you because I am awesomely made, wonderfully; your works are wonders -I know this very well. My bones were not hidden from you when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes could see me as an embryo, but in your book all my days were already written; my days had been shaped before any of them existed.
Psalm 139:14 – 16
Race
For as long as I can remember, there has always been “racial tension”. This isn’t limited to “black” or “white”, though it’s the most prominent example (in America at least) in our age. The power(s) of this present age would have us to focus on our differences – in this case, the most superficial among them – the color of our skin.
Notice that I put “black” and “white” in quotation marks – because in truth, there’s no such thing. Open a box of crayons and have a look if you don’t believe me. The fact is that we are all various shades of brown. Some of us are darker and some lighter, some of us more of a mid-tone. Some have a bit more red in our tone and some more yellow – but we all stem from the same root color.
In fact, modern genetics has shown us that every last bit of genetic information necessary to produce any and all possible variations of human-being exists in each of us. Skin color, hair, eyes, bone structure, nose and ear shape… if we could read our own DNA like a book, we’d see that everything necessary to create any “race” of human being is present.
Let me state that more simply, just to make sure you get hold of this: every genetic instruction required to create any one of you reading this article, exists within my DNA – moreover, every instruction required to create me, exists within the DNA every one of you!
It contains all of this and more.
This is why we can, and have seen wholly biological children of parents of a given color, born with a completely different skin color. If you want to really wrap your head around this, I suggest reading up on dominant and recessive genes.
I believe we need to clarify something before we move forward – color isn’t culture. To many, this issue is conflated because we have a tendency to mix these two together. A culture is a collection of customs and traditions, simply put, it’s a way of life. Our skin color has zero impact on this. There are certainly cultural norms that are more prevalent among certain people-groups, but none of this is indicative of color.
None of this, however, constitutes race. In fact, the amalgamation of culture and ancestry is what we refer to as ethnicity. Notice that, once again, color is absent from the qualifying criteria when examining the definition of the term. Race, as we’ve come to define it modernity, is a “category of humankind that shares certain distinctive physical traits” – but let me ask you a question… is that a matter of empirical reality, or is it based on limited human perception?
If you see this as fact; I would challenge you to read through the first few chapters of Genesis again. Exactly how many races did God make? I ask because I only see one… because there is only one and it’s called human.
When God created humankind, he made them in the likeness of God. He created them male and female; when they were created, he blessed them and named them “humankind”.
Genesis 5:1 – 2
Gender
What a strange age we live in. While the world seems intent on ever more creative, yet petty means of dividing us, we now find ourselves faced with an entire movement that seeks to challenge the very essence of clear, objective, biological reality. I personally believe that our failure to adequately apply the Creator’s perspective is not insignificant here…
Have you ever encountered a reference or allusion to “the battle of the sexes”? The expression refers to a perceived struggle between male and female. Is there a struggle? Yes. Does there need to be one? Not even “kind-of”.
Within secular thought, the edicts of the bible and it’s views on gender, relationships and sexuality are outdated. They are the vestiges of an antiquated mindset from a primitive world. Worse still, they are viewed as being patriarchal and misogynistic; that is, oppressive to women. Ironically, some believers even hold (portions of) scripture to be misogynistic. They see a theme of subjugation with regards to women that offends the “sensibilities” of the modern age.
Here’s the thing, much of what we perceive with regards to this issue (and many others) is filtered through a wrong lens… our lens. Sometimes our language has changed such that we fail to understand the fundamental difference between what something meant when it was written, and what it means now (have a look into slavery vs bond-service for example). Other times, we just completely miss the point and focus on a single sentence within the context of an entire chapter… because we don’t like it.
There’s exactly one opinion in the Universe that actually matters… and suck it up buttercup, ’cause it ain’t yours.
– This Author
Even in the writings of the “New Testament”, we see scriptures that defy the thinking of our day. These are the same passages that antagonists of the faith twist in order to paint the Judeo-Christian world-view as, once again, misogynistic. I ask though; if the head of the woman is man, and the head of the man is Messiah (1 Corinthians 11:3), then isn’t He (Messiah) the example by which men are called to head their households and lead their families? Would that not require self-sacrifice?
Of course it would.
Far it be it from an unbelieving world to grasp the idea that true, biblical leadership is servitude and sacrifice, but it’s a point made repeatedly throughout scripture. Furthermore, it’s entirely thematic throughout the life, ministry, death and resurrection of the Messiah himself. Still envious of the male role? Feel free to hop right up on that cross…
I could go on, but many of the issues this speaks to go far deeper than this article intends to go. Suffice it to say, God’s perspective on the issue is not our perspective on the issue; and one of us is dead-wrong. I’ll let you puzzle out who.
God created us male and female. He made us different, not unequal. Men serve a different purpose from women, but both are essential to the health of humanity. God is not a misogynist. He did not create us master and servant – He created us different, but equal. Furthermore, He created us to be one… to be echad.
Gray hair is like a crown of glory; it is attained in the path of righteousness.
Proverbs 16:31
Age
When I was a young man, my mother and father had a number of talks with me regarding the circumstances of the day. Their concern stemmed from the fact that they were already seeing the decay of morality within our society and, like and good, God-fearing parents, they worried over the choices their children were going to make.
On more than one occasion, they remarked that the issues I faced at the time were very different than what they’d faced in their youth. While this seemed reasonable and was certainly a well-intended vehicle to further the dialogue, it wasn’t true. It still isn’t.
What exists now is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing truly new on earth.
Ecclesiastes 1:9
While the issues that were prevalent in my youth were certainly more pronounced than what my parents faced, they were anything but new or different. The delivery mechanisms for temptation and sin have changed, and may even be more effective, but the temptations and the sin are the same. The struggle may be amplified, but the struggle is the same. The sin may be more prevalent, but the sin is the same.
Thankfully, the answer to this struggle is also the same.
I am addressing this because it speaks to the heart of one of the enemy’s great deceptions; that the generations cannot adequately relate to one another. If you believe that the generation before you cannot relate to the trials and struggles you face, you’re not very likely to actually go to them for help or seek their council.
If I were the adversary, I’d want this too. I’d want each generation to feel isolated and that their issues were unique to them; that those who’d gone before them could not relate to their circumstances. I’d want this because it would ensure that they’d fail to recognize that the previous generation had already faced, and (hopefully) overcome many of the challenges they were yet to face themselves. In short, I’d want this because it would deny the youth of wise and prudent council when they needed it most!
I want to challenge you who read this. I challenge you to see through different eyes. The next time you walk into your church, synagogue or congregation, I want you to look at those of another generation differently than you do today…
If you are younger, I want you to look at those older than you and see the wisdom of experience and know that nothing you face today hasn’t been faced before. If you are a “righteous crown” I want you to see those younger than you as you once were – young men and women about to enter the fight of their lives… a people in need of Godly wisdom and wise council.
The biggest threat to the enemy are people who know what they’re saved from.
The crux of all of this is to illustrate how we’ve been lied to. The fruit of all these issues is that of division and scripture makes plain that we – all of us – who comprise the “Body of Messiah (Christ)” are not to be divided.
Additionally, I want to re-emphasize that we are in a war and, as such, we have to come to some hard realizations regarding the activity of the enemy in our “camp”…
- There is one race – it’s called human.
- There are two genders, and they were made as two halves of the same whole.
- The “generation gap” is a lie.
Haven’t I ordered you, ‘Be strong, be bold’? So don’t be afraid or downhearted, because Adonai your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9
שלום עליכם – Shalom Aleichem – Peace Be Upon You