Warfare

Ephesians 6:10-20

Whenever I hear a Christian talk about “spiritual warfare,” I have a negative reaction. That turn of phrase seems to frequently refer to, at least these days, a very specific political agenda that has been dressed up in the trappings of religion than not.

But it can also feel like a turn of phrase that provides an avenue for violence into how we understand our faith, too! With “spiritual warfare” we become “soldiers” who must fight the “enemy.” And then, what if we become convinced that the real work of our faith involves using violence to acheive those ends?

I was shocked to see all of the flags and banners that bore the name of Jesus and other words of Christian faith at the insurrection of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. I believe many people there were truly convinced that they were engaging in “spiritual warfare.”

And perhaps we shouldn’t rush to judgment too quickly. All of us can fall prey to a convincing leader or convincing idea, and mixing our faith into it only adds power to that message. There were many Christian pastors on the steps of the capitol that day.

But even as I say all of this, I can’t deny outright the reality of “spiritual warfare.” In the book of Ephesians, the author writes of pieces of armor used to “stand against the wiles of the devil, for our struggle is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:11-12 NRSVUE)

What violence can equipment like a “sword of the spirit” or a “shield of faith” prepare us to strive against? One thing is for certain, the vast majority of the people you encounter are battling something.

Not all struggles and battles involve violence. Some battles are against addictions, some struggles are for a new political reality to be birthed. Some wars are waged in the hospital beds. Some battles are fought on our knees when we pray.

Spiritual warfare is real, I just think it has gotten very easy to abuse that term to permit acts of real and evil violence in the world because it can be so tempting to think that violence can solve problems!

But this armor of God the author of Ephesians very poetically describes in Ephesians 6 is striking: there is a belt of truth, a breastplate of righteousness, sandals of preparation, a shield of faith, a helmet of salvation, and a sword of the spirit. This armor was meant to elicit the idea of what Roman soldiers wore.

The warfare the author is referring to was rooted in a historical context where everyone knew what the author meant when they wrote in Ephesians 6 about standing against “the wiles of the devil, for our struggle is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

Perhaps the rulers, authorities, and the “cosmic powers of this present darkness” have a different identity now than then. Perhaps the devil has a different costume. And perhaps the armor is different, too. In this day where the onslaught of suffering bombards our awareness because of the free-flowing deluge of information, perhaps we need goggles of discernment to help us interpret how God is moving and speaking to us through all of that.

In these times, where the right way forward in life can be impossible to find because of how morally confusing everything can seem, perhaps we need a compass of wisdom that directs us to the truth.

In this present time when despair is so easy to find and grasp onto, perhaps we need a sigil of hope to remind us that the harder choice of hope is better than the easier choice of giving up or giving in.

I bet you can think of other “spiritual equipment” that would be helpful these days. But one thing is for certain, we are not meant to struggle and strive alone. Far more important than any armor is the community that surrounds us, for when we are together, no power or principality, no devil, and no cosmic power of present darkness can prevail. Thanks be to God.