The simple answer to the question “Who is our enemy?” is Satan. The devil is the enemy of our soul, hates us, and comes to kill, steal and destroy. Nonetheless, he often tries to confound us by presenting false enemies and deflecting the attention from himself.
Some of the most distressing situations any ministry can face is division in the ranks. Back biting, bitterness and unspoken resentment can do Satan’s work for him.
The enemies that we often claim are the enemy are the following: pro-life groups who don’t agree with us and our tactics, the pro-abortion crowd, the abortion industry, the police, and sometimes the leadership of ministries we feel are disconnected from those of us in the ditch. Sometimes, most tragically, we behave as if the enemy are the people serving alongside us.
Now, I think it is appropriate to classify those who peddle death like those in the abortion industry as a tool of Satan. They are definitely in conflict with our mission and our ministry. The abortion industry is evil and we are called to vanquish evil as best we can; however, the Bible reminds us that our fight is not against flesh and blood but against the principalities of darkness. It is a spiritual battle. So many of those that we treat as enemies are flesh and blood and some are even sharing our purpose and goals. It is important to correctly identify our enemy. Satan is our enemy.
That of course brings us to the next question. Once we have defined the enemy: “What is our greatest weapon?”
Our Weapons
We use many things as weapons when we feel under attack. Most of the weapons we use are ones we should not.
1. Gossip
Someone offends us. We call our friend so we can compare notes on how offended we are and how right we are to be offended. This is NOT a weapon we should employ. When we have an issue with someone, we should never call our fellow volunteers or friends to talk about all the terrible things that person did. There is no doubt the Bible commands us to go and speak directly to that person. We have addressed this issue in past podcast, but it bears repeating.
When you gossip about someone you are part of the problem.
We are biblically commanded not to gossip. Furthermore the effect of gossip is always destructive. It has the effect of making us wallow deeper and deeper in our perception of injustice, with the one we are gossiping about having no opportunity to give input, feedback or defend his or her behavior. The Bible says that the tongue is a mighty evil, small but powerful, but like the rudder of a ship able to change the direction of a large vessel. In other words, gossip can steer us in a very bad direction.
2. Silence
Sometimes we believe our greatest weapon is silence. There are times when we do need to be quiet before the Lord and pray about an issue. However, silence can also be the breeding ground for growing resentment. Discernment is necessary, but almost always if there has been a perceived slight or hurt, silence just provides a vacuum for bitterness to grow.
3. Rebellion
Sometimes our weapon is rebellion. Since most ministries cannot run without volunteers, the people who are often doing some of the hardest work are unpaid. It is hard for any ministry leader to require anything of a volunteer since they are doing it without pay. We certainly do not want to drive them away! However, God tells us that in almost every entity He sets up where people work and live together, there is a hierarchy of leadership. Paid or unpaid, we are to submit to leadership. If we disagree with leadership, I think it is always important to first examine our own hearts. Are we in a spirit of rebellion?
If we have prayerfully examined ourselves and believe that a rebellious, prideful spirit is not the case, then it is important to respectfully address leadership with any issue that causes concern. Again, gossiping with fellow workers will only create anger and division and probably inaccurate perceptions. Always go directly to the leader and ask to have a respectful discussion about any conflicting views you may have.
4. The Holy Spirit
Now the Holy Spirit is definitely a valuable ally and we should never go into any kind of ministry or spiritual battle without the power and the help of the Holy Spirit; however, I have seen the Holy Spirit misused. For example, if there is a standard which the ministry has clearly set forth, we should be very careful about violating that standard with the excuse that the Holy Spirit urged us to do it. I think this is a dangerous assumption that it is the Holy Spirit guiding us to disregard what leadership has asked of us.
How many times have we heard from women coming to abort their child that they have prayed to God about this and that He is good with it? They feel He has told them that He understands and, of course, forgives.
The Holy Spirit is our guide, but be careful not to use it as an excuse to rebel against authority to do what we want to do.
There is one weapon that God says is infallible and that is specifically named as a weapon. That weapon is the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God.
5. The Word of God
The weapon that is fail-safe in every aspect of life is the Word of God, the sword of the Spirit. The Spirit gives conviction, guidance, direction, and is sharper than any sword. The Spirit will NEVER conflict with the Word of God.
The Word of God says thou shall not murder; thus, the Spirit will never tell a woman it is OK to murder her unborn child. The same is true for us. We are told in the Word to submit to authority. Is it really the Spirit telling us to rebel against authority when we disagree with them?
We should, of course, never submit to a request by authority that counters the Word of God. But to not submit to a ministry request that is not ungodly but maybe we just don’t like is something we should examine carefully.
Who are our allies?
We have explored who are the real enemies and how we are to fight the enemy. Who are our allies? Of course, our strongest ally and the only one that is critical is Jesus. God Himself is with us, and if we have submitted our life to Him, we can trust Him and He will guide us. All of us are fallible. Our hearts can deceive us.
Even strong believers need accountability to keep us on the right path; therefore, we absolutely need the local church, as well as a godly pastor and leadership of that church. It is good to have a godly accountability buddy as well.
Finally, our allies are each other in the ministry. We need to know that we can trust each other. We can trust each other that if there is an issue, it will be raised with the person who is causing the issue and that person alone. It will not become a source of gossip or anger and bitterness growing into a seed of resentment and discontent and offense. We need to know that we have each other‘s back, no matter what. That is how a ministry thrives and grows. The people in the ministry are our spiritual family united in a common goal and a common cause serving the God we love. We need to be very careful not to forget this.
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:24-25)
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