It is true that I am an ordinary, weak human being, but I don’t use human plans and methods to win my battles. I use God’s mighty weapons, not those made by men, to knock down the devil’s strongholds. These weapons can break down every proud argument against God and every wall that can be built to keep men from finding him. [2 Corinthians 10:3-5a (TLB)]
In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus blessed the meek, so I doubt He would have been a fan of mixed martial arts. Nevertheless, several years ago, our mountain church did a sermon series titled “Cage Fighting” and a large cage of chain-link fencing was placed in the front of the church to represent Satan’s strongholds. Instead of allowing Satan to keep us locked in his cage, the sermon series was about fighting our way out of it. Thinking about the viciousness and brutality of cage fighting, I recalled C.S. Lewis’ Perelandra, the second book in his space trilogy—a book in which good and evil actually come to blows as brutal as those in a cage fight.
In Lewis’ book, the young planet of Perelandra has been untouched by sin and death, just as our world once was. When Ransom arrives there, he meets the innocent Tinidril, the Eve figure of her world. Having no knowledge of good or evil because everything on Perelandra is good, she enjoys a friendly relationship with Maleldil (God) as did Adam and Eve before the fall. Rather than a serpent, it is the demonic Professor Weston who tries to tempt the ingenuous Tinidril into defying Maleldil’s one prohibition. Weston uses all sorts of brilliant yet convoluted arguments to seduce the innocent woman into disobedience. He even suggests that her rebellion actually would please God by demonstrating her strength and independence. Out-argued and out-maneuvered by the devious Weston, Ransom despairs of preserving the innocence of the planet. He knows that Weston’s success would mean a tragic end to the Eden of Perelandra.
When Maleldil tells Ransom to physically fight Weston, the man spends the night in debate before reluctantly attacking the enemy bare-handed. A fight without referee, rounds, time limit, or rules, this is a no-holds-barred battle to the bitter end. Although Ransom eventually succeeds, Lewis’ next book in the trilogy reminds us that evil never stops trying to overpower good.
When I read Paul’s words to the Ephesians, I remember Lewis’ story along with that cage in the middle of our church. They remind me that Satan doesn’t abide by the Marquess of Queensberry boxing rules. Like Weston, he fights dirty and takes unfair advantage when his opponent is unprotected or exhausted (as he did when Jesus was in the wilderness). A blatant but skillful liar, our devious enemy often adds a bit of truth to his lies and then twists it to his advantage. Moreover, Satan, like any accomplished fighter, tries to trick us into making foolish mistakes or underestimating him. He lulls us into lowering our guard or taking the easy punch so he can knock us down with a left jab we don’t see coming.
The apostle Paul tells us to wear the armor of God when battling Satan. Truth, righteousness, the peace of God, faith, and salvation are the defensive weapons that help block Satan’s jabs of temptation, sin, shame, guilt, doubt, fear, anger, and unforgiveness. But, as Ransom learned in his battle against evil, the best defense is an offense. Fighting the powers of Satan is like hand-to-hand combat but, rather than fists, we use a sword: the word of God! Unlike Ransom, we must never hesitate to do battle with the forces of evil. With the power of His Holy Spirit and wielding the sword of His Word, we can fight our way out of the enemy’s stronghold.
These words were among those the kings of Israel were to copy, keep on their person at all times, and read every day of their lives. Solomon was Israel’s third king and, while we can’t know about Saul or David, it certainly seems that by Solomon’s reign, the words of Deuteronomy had been forgotten or ignored.
When I was asked if I’d ever been hurt by a fellow believer, I had to reply that in my seventy plus years, I’ve been hurt (both intentionally and unintentionally) by all sorts of people, including the most devout of Christians. When asked if any Bible verse helped guide my response to the hurt, Ephesians 4:32 came to mind: “Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” I was then asked what I’d learned from my experiences. The first take-away, learned the hard way, was to immediately ask God to put His arm around my shoulder and His hand over my mouth before I said something stupid or nasty. The second was that, as tactless, unkind, petty, and rude that both Christians and non-Christians can be, they also can be right!
Although the Apostle Paul seems to have mixed figures of speech by referring to the military with “fought” and “fight,” athletics with “race,” and religion with “faith,” all three references relate to athletics. The word used for fought was agónizomai (the root word for the English word “agonize”) which meant “to contend for a prize” or “struggle.” The word translated as “fight” was agōna, meaning “a gathering, contest, struggle.” Rather than a conflict or dispute, it referred to a gathering to see contests like the ancient games held at Olympia or the games themselves. Paul’s audience would have understood that he meant something grueling and, in their 1st century world, athletic competitions were so fierce and brutal that even the winners usually carried scars.
For the most part, being a “stiff-necked people” is a pejorative label, but could there be occasions when that’s exactly what we should be? Are there times we should be intractable, stubborn, and uncompromising—even instances we should disregard the law?
Today’s email contained a meme of that lovable loser Charlie Brown with the caption: “The smile on my face doesn’t mean my life is perfect. It means I appreciate what I have and what I have been blessed with. I choose to be happy.” The meme reminded me of words spoken by Jane Marczweski when she appeared on America’s Got Talent last week: “You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore before you decide to be happy.” Known as Nightbirde, the 30-year-old vocalist sang an original song called “It’s Okay” and received the “golden buzzer” from judge Simon Cowell. She said she wrote the song as a reminder that, “You can be happy and also be going through something really hard at the same time—you don’t have to pick one or the other.”
Devotions of the Heart 