Is There Such a Thing as Friendly Fire?

2Cor. 2:11 - Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

o   We are in a war and this war has a very real enemy. Even the word satan means adversary or opponent. It is so easy to walk through this life forgetting that there is an invisible battle going on all around us. One preacher has encouraged us to remember that this world is a battleground not a playground. The reality is that we are in a fight and this fight has actual casualties. Satan, our enemy, seeks an advantage over us. Isn’t that what armies do? They seek the most strategic places and try to get the high ground, or the best vantage point where an all-out assault can be made. We cannot be ignorant of how our enemy works. He has methods of operation and tactics of warfare which we must be informed of. Paul says do not be unaware of his devices. In these recent days, when Canadian soldiers have been stationed in various Middle Eastern places, we hear a lot about IEDs, which are Improvised Explosive Devices. These devices are usually hidden, and the unsuspecting and inalert soldier can easily trigger the explosion. We must not be ignorant, uninformed or unaware of this tactic of the enemy. The context of Paul’s writing speaks of unforgiveness. We must forgive or our opponent will gain the advantage and overpower us. Talk about an explosive device; the longer unforgiveness sits hidden and invisible, the more serious the damage can be. If we are not both diligent and vigilant, we can easily allow bitter feelings to enter and linger in our hearts. The fact is, while our warfare is with satan, we almost always battle with each other. If we can be divided and distracted from the actual fight, or if we unwittingly turn our weapons on each other, then our foe has already done his work. Be alert! Be aware! Be awake! We have a malicious and dangerous opponent whose one aim is to kill and destroy anything that resembles God and reminds him of what he has lost and what he will never regain. We are hated and hunted. Let’s not do the hating and hunting on behalf of our enemy, there’s certainly nothing friendly about that fire.