Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Fighting the enemy on our shore or theirs

We struggle with sin, yet we invite the enemy to our own turf before we finally decide to battle. Far easier to fight the battle on a foreign shore than right at home.

What am I talking about? Fantasies. We play out our temptations in our minds be it revenge fantasies, sexual fantasies, greed fantasies, or just mean-spirited prideful "I sure showed them" fantasies that we fully indulge and allow to play out in our minds.

Whata perfectly safe way to have all the sin we like, right? No one gets hurt and we can do whatever we please without repercussion. Not so. Soon enough, the real thing comes knocking, and we are unprepared, having given in to the temptations many times over in our minds.

So if you're serious about being in that number "blessed are they who overcome", consider taking the battle to the foreign turf, where not so much is at risk, and a lost battle does not carry the same casualty counts as a home turf battle, and truthfully, the battle is more easily won.

But we love our fantasies, don't we? Well, you've been there, done that. Get a new fantasy: a life where Christ reigns supreme in our minds and hearts 24/7. Because there is not a single minute of a single day that we don't need Him. Think of it - as life's daily elements come your way, what if you were not so often "on the outs" with God, always needing to apologize before you felt you could ask for help and advice? What if you were friends, sharing the day as it came along? That is such a better place to live, because life doesn't leave you alone, and there is always something we need His help with. If you'reused to going without you are missing out on much more than whatever you're still clinging to instead. Just FYI.