Family War Tactic

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the body of Christ as a family.  As Christians, we are brothers and sisters.  Different aspects of that relationship have been brought to my attention over the past few months (particularly between brothers and sisters), but one of the more recent ones is how we interact, and our intentions behind those interactions. For so long, I simply tried to not be a stumbling block to my brothers in Christ, trying not open opportunities for sin.   However, God recently showed me that I need to get on the offensive side with my brothers and sisters!  I shouldn’t leave them to fight battles on their own.  Those are my brothers and sisters!  I need to be praying for them on a regular basis, helping them fight the sin that lies in us all.  We have to be for one another. Obviously I won’t know a brother’s struggles as much as other guys would, but we must wage war together.  It is one thing for me to not attack them, but I must also be willing to get in the trenches with them and fight on the offensive. Together, we are more effective against the devil’s schemes.

I was reminded of this today while talking with a guy friend.  We were talking about the tensions that can arise when there is a lot of physical proximity between guys and girls.  In Downline, we agreed not to date anyone for the extent of the program, so obviously, this is something we must be aware of and cautious of.  My friend wanted to be sure to set the precedent that if there was ever any type of situation that may potentially open the door for our thoughts to be led astray, we would be comfortable enough with each other to say something and put an end to it.  We must never take sin lightly or treat it like a joke.  We must mortify it with all the strength provided by the Spirit. And we must assist one another in the battle.  I must be guarding my brothers and my sisters, and I need them to guard me. 

It’s similar to the Spartan war tactic. If you’ve ever seen 300, there is a part where the king tells a man that he cannot fight the battle with them, simply because he cannot raise his shield.  He explains that the shield is an integral part of their defense- each man’s shield serves to protect him and the person next to him.  As Christians, we are the same way!  I should be on guard to prevent the devil from gaining a foothold in my life, but also be looking out for my family.  I can’t let my sisters and brothers fall victim to the devils schemes! And it is so important for us to look out for one another because it is usually easier to see a weakness in someone else than it is to admit weakness in our own selves.  It’s so essential to have the type of community where we can be honest with each other (and ourselves) and name sin as sin, then fight it.  Sin has no place among believers, and we must work together to wage war against it in every facet of our lives.