Lord,
We pray today that you would open our eyes to the battles we fight daily. We are constantly at war with society around us, the urges within us, and the Enemy outside of us. We pray that you would make us aware of the costs of fighting our own battles, and the associated rewards. We pray that you would make us aware of the rewards and costs of fighting the battles that we are called to fight for you. We pray that you would give us the wisdom to know the difference. We also ask, that as we fight every battle, you would allow us to understand that fighting some battles shapes us in the image of Your Son, while fighting others battles shapes us into the image of our own design, and we pray that you would strengthen us to continually be disciples, learning and seeking to grow in our knowledge of Your Word, Your Love, Your Name, and Your Grace.
We ask all this in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen
Today, I'm writing to discuss battles. We have, throughout history, acted as a warrior species. We are constantly involved in battles, wars, and conflicts. Our greatest leaders and teachers are seen as those who through force of will, charisma, or sheer military domination, have enforced peace, as only he who can enforce peace is a great warrior. I would hope that we could see that as a design that God has implanted upon us. God is the ultimate warrior, in that He is powerful enough, that when He desires peace, He creates it.
In one of my favorite books of the bible, in the third chapter, the Preacher says, "There is an occasion for everything, and a time for every activity under heaven: a time to give birth and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot; a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to tear down and a time to build; a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance; a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace and a time to avoid embracing; a time to search and a time to count as lost; a time to keep and a time to throw away; a time to tear and a time to sew; a time to be silent and a time to speak; a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace."
This is not a time for hate. This is a time for love, it is a time for building bridges and communicating our positions. When we accept that those who we are talking to are enemies, we lose sight of their inherent worth as creations of the Most High God, and we see them as stepping stones. I have many friends who disagree with me vehemently about God's existence. Does that mean that they have nothing to teach me? No. Does that mean that because they are wrong about God's existence, I should disregard their counsel? Not at all.
The Jews and the Samaritans disagreed about the basic tenets of their religion, and yet, when God was asked, "Who is my neighbor?" He responded to a Jewish man that a Samaritan, who acted in love, was more a neighbor than their priest. So, who is my neighbor? The gay, naturalist/humanist physicist who cares about me enough to respect me, or a random person who has never met me, who I agree with about politics and religion? Is it the woman who says that what I stand for is rubbish, even though she and I both care for those who cannot care for themselves, or the self-righteous talking heads who spout enough truth to feel confident in their re-election? When I take my eyes off of which fights are worth fighting, and which fights are more worth being civilized discussions, where people talk calmly about why they disagree, I start down a road where those who might need to hear what I have to say are too distanced by my methods to hear my message, and in that time, I am sinning more by closing them off to the Gospel than I am by taking a moral stance on a particular issue which does not decide their salvation.
When we fight without God's guidance, we lose ourselves more than we lose battles.
Article about the Fight
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