War, it is a word that brings dread and despair. We don’t like to use it, and we do not want to think about it affecting us. However, even though it is a word that we do not like to use, or even hear, we tend to have a pretty good talent for waging war. Just about every generation of our nations’ history has been involved in some conflict in the world and has been affected by war.
Most of us can remember Desert Storm, one that sticks in my mind anyway, and here we are again, being affected by war. Russia’s attack on Ukraine has brought with it consequences that affect us here in our nation. I pray that the effects on us are minimal, but I am afraid that we are not done seeing the consequences of the war that is happening in Ukraine. I am afraid that the effects on us are not over and will worsen. The prices on everyday needs, more than likely, will continue to rise. This war will have, and has already, affected our economy.
Now, we can complain about the prices we pay in the supermarket and at the gas pumps, and no doubt we will. However, I want us to also think about this. If we continue with our business with Russia as usual, we are helping Putin do what it is he is doing to Ukraine. We would be part of Russia’s war machine. We would because Russia will use the money they make from the U.S. to help fund that war. Paying higher prices may be the struggle that we contribute. By our actions of not using Russian products here (which will increase prices), maybe we are doing our part to help end this war.
If it helps bring an end to this conflict, we need to do our part. It will be more challenging for us than it used to be. It will mean change, and change is hard. We like the lives of ease and comfort that we have here in our nation. Rarely are we called to change much of our way of life. It may be now we are called to give more and struggle more than we have in the past.
These are the effects of war. From our armchair perspective, we complain about how we must struggle, and we want results without any personal investment.
There are things about war that we know to be true. War is not enjoyable. War is not cheap. War is not convenient. War affects our way of life. We are seeing this in our world today, and we are reminded of these traits about war. Unfortunately, we see war through unrealistic glasses. “Let war be waged; if it needs to be waged,” we might say, “just don’t let it bother me.” We want to live as we want to live. We want our peace and comfort, and we do not want to be bothered by the effects of war.
Well, not only do we see physical war in this way, but we also see spiritual war in the same way. Many people just do not want to be bothered by this war. There is a war we are fighting daily, and it is just as real, with even more important consequences at stake. The war we fight daily is a spiritual war. The spiritual warfare we are engaged in has all the traits seen in a physical conflict. Everything we said above about physical war are traits of the spiritual war, and we want to treat it the same. We want to let other people fight this battle if it needs to be fought; just do not let it bother us!
We have been slowly sucked into the comforts of life, so much so that we have come to believe that those comforts are rights. No longer do we see them as privileges. Now, we look at those things and think we deserve them. Let our internet go down for an hour, and we will use the cell phone to light up Facebook about how hard our day has been. Let the cell phone system go down, and we will use the internet we have available at home to complain about the hardness of life without our phones. In our world of comfort, we forget that we are in a war. We are in a battle with Satan, and left to our own devices, we will lose.
God does not want us to lose. He gave us a way to victory, and that is Jesus, His Son. Make no mistake, though; we are at war. It is costly and inconvenient. It is not comfortable. Now and then, we are going to be called on to step out of our comfort zones. We do this to fight against evil.
The beauty of this spiritual war is that God has already won it, and now what we must do is get home without falling to the enemy. We can do that; we can know victory through Jesus, and He will take us to God and to our home in heaven. Here in this life, we are behind enemy lines. Satan is after us, and so we must fight. Fight this spiritual war with Satan, knowing that sometimes it will not be comfortable, but it will ALWAYS be worth the struggle.
All too well, we know that war will affect us. It will take us to places in our lives we would rather not go, and it is a struggle at times. We can say, and must say, the same about the spiritual war. Do not let comfort override your willingness to fight. Maybe you have been comfortable for too long. Perhaps you have given in and given up to the enemy. Get up and out of the comfy chair and fight once again. Let us join arms, voices, and hearts, and let Satan know we are here to fight!
~Source: Paoli Church of Christ
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