Not Against Flesh and Blood

Ephesians 6:12
"For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places."

I’ve been thinking about the topics of politics and religion recently. These are, as any sane person will tell you, the two topics to stay away from discussion regarding. Everyone’s opinion is usually very strong, and people are so charged- yes, driven- by these two topics, it is hard to hold a calm discussion about them without having it quickly escalated. A problem arises when discussing either topic of the two of them. Imagine trying to discuss both!

I’ve been thinking about these topics recently as I’ve done some reading. It has been a struggle for me to see what I have seen so commonly among, particularly, God’s people regarding these two subjects. The struggle has been so intense in me- seeing things that I know that God’s Word would not promote being taught and perpetuated so much. Jesus Himself would very strictly reprimand this behavior, I believe- based on his own reaction to a similar dilemma.

First, I want to take a look at Jesus response when asked to get into a discussion on politics. He was asked about paying taxes. A dilemma of the day among the Jews was whether or not they should pay taxes. They did not want to recognize Caesar as their ruler, but to stay out of trouble, they had to pay. Jesus was asked whether they should pay taxes.

Of course, they were trying to trap Him- if the answer was yes, then they would say he was supporting the Romans, something most Jews strayed away from- and certainly those who rallied around Jesus would. If the answer was no, then he was supporting anarchy and they could have had Him arrested by the Romans. The answer, however, was more complex and said so much more;

“Who’s face is on the coins?”
“Caesar’s”
“then give to Caesar what is His, and give to God what is God’s!”

In essence, that what he was here about was more important than the questions they were asking. His mission, which was clearly defined as bringing about the Kingdom of God, was more important than politics, not “wrapped up in” politics.

Ephesians 6 tells us that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers and principalities of darkness in the spiritual realm. I like the way the New Living Translation puts it: “we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies”

To the Christians out there who feel that God’s Kingdom will be brought about on earth through a particular nation, people group or political party, note this- those are flesh and blood “enemies” that we have focused on.

Our struggle to bring about the Kingdom of God is not against any of the following:
- Islamic people/nations (very cafeul- I specifically am noting the people!)
- Terrorists
- Communists
- Liberals
- Conservatives
- Homosexuals
- Abortionists
- Tree-huggers
- Harry Potter books
- “Family Guy”
- any other people on the face of the earth.

While we may wrestle with other religious worldviews (and perhaps the evil powers behind them), we are not to be wrestling with one another. Our enemy is not flesh and blood. Allying ourselves with any particular political view too closely will inevitably wear off on us saying that these ARE our enemies. We must resist that temptation!

These thoughts have been brewing in me for a while, and articulated as I began to read a book by Gregory Boyd. Stay tuned for my reaction to and summary of the first few chapters, as I’ve been reading them on lunch break at work.