This enemy uses ideas to rip humans apart and put us at enmity with each other. The enemy's hatred for us bursts forth by creating political dramas that make us turn to our eyes off Christ and place our faith in the "right" political candidate. Right vs. Left, Democrat vs. Republican. Conservative vs. Liberal. This certainly is a big problem but the enemy is keeping us yelling at each other rather than listening to each other in love.
The Enemy is not humans. The Enemy is the Father of Lies, the malevolent dictator of the spiritual hosts of wickedness. And the context of this verse tells us how to fight our enemy:
We are in a mortal battle for souls--our children's, our neighbors, our family's, our own. Whether we like it or not, the time is now. The war has come and our enemy is at the doorstep. Gird you loins, oh Christians, the evil day is upon us.
The Enemy of mankind whips us up and plays with our patriotic hearts and minds and confuses us with the idea that if our side could only be in charge of the government that God would win. Our Enemy keeps us focused on being angry at our political opponent.
But our Enemy uses much more than politics. He is currently killing our souls us in a culture war.
As critical as the crisis is about marriage, our enemy isn't the radical anti-Christian agenda, anti-traditional marriage or anti-life groups. Our enemy knows us well and these moral earthquakes that are shaking the foundation of our culture, these deadly moral tornadoes our enemy is tossing at us that are ripping our country to pieces are only a diversion. Our enemy is pitting we humans against each other: America vs. the world, Capitalism vs. Communism, Christianity vs. Islam, Secular Humanism vs. Christianity, evolution vs. creation, men vs. women, rich vs. poor, adults vs. teenagers, Republicans vs. Democrats, Protestants vs. Catholics, Protestants vs. Protestants, Pro-choice vs. Pro-life, home schoolers vs. public schoolers....
The list is endless. Human's Enemy knows us... and he wants us divided over anything and everything. He chooses to pit us against each other in any way he can, with fighting over trivialities such as sports teams to eternal issues of great weight such as religious differences. All to keep us divided. He wants humans to be eternally at war with each other, so he can slip in unnoticed. He is the man behind the curtain who is confusing us, deceiving us, playing with our souls and keeping us in despairing chaos. And we are stupid enough to fall for it.
Love cannot win when we are divided.
The bowel of the abyss of hell is spewing forth its moral filth onto the American culture and we are tempted to blame the homosexual lobby, the North Koreans, President Obama, President Bush, President Clinton, Hollywood, the Feminists, the ACLU, the sleeping Christians, the educational system, the NRA.... and do not take me wrong... people are to blame. But all the conspiracies of the world do not point us in the right direction. Our Enemy loves conspiracy theories for whether they are dead on target or completely insane, our Enemy's will is done, for they turn us against each other.
Ephesians 6:12 points directly to the problem and it is not us:
For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
The Enemy is not humans. The Enemy is the Father of Lies, the malevolent dictator of the spiritual hosts of wickedness. And the context of this verse tells us how to fight our enemy:
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace; besides all these, taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
We are in a mortal battle for souls--our children's, our neighbors, our family's, our own. Whether we like it or not, the time is now. The war has come and our enemy is at the doorstep. Gird you loins, oh Christians, the evil day is upon us.
