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What do potato chips, chocolate-chip cookies and a Christian band have in common?
I become more and more aware everyday how much spiritual warfare goes on in this world. Not too long ago I had no clear definition or understanding of what the words "spiritual warfare" really meant. For anyone whose only exposure to spiritual warfare is This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti (or something similar), when the words "spiritual warfare" are spoken, your mind may imagine warrior-angels doing battle with demons in some unseen dimension, the results of which somehow affect the everyday lives of believers and non-believers alike. For anyone else, what is it that you imagine?
I was in Walgreen's waiting for a prescription to be filled and I'm looking for a snack. I go to the "snack-isle" and begin perusing the potato chip section. I was just about to grab a bag of Ruffle's or Lay's when something caught my eye: Uncle Ray's Potato Chips. Well, I'm all for supporting the little guy, so I grab a bag. I glance on the back of the bag and notice the words "James: 4:4-15, Whereas ye know..." in bold font, and I think, "Wow, that's cool. Uncle Ray's doing his part to be a witness for Christ, in what some may consider a boring, dead-end job." So, I continue down the isle and see a big bag of chocolate-chip cookies, but it's not the cookies that caught my attention...it was the brand name: Sinful Sensations.
(Okay, the four of you that actually read this blog on a regular basis, just stick with me, I am going somewhere not-cheesy with this.)
The Sinful Sensation cookies stare down at me from the top shelf and I think, "What is this world coming to, when you have to advertise to people using the word 'sin' and it is actually meant to tempt?" That thought comes and goes just as Uncle Ray did, not fifteen seconds earlier.
So, now I've paid for my prescription, potato chips and a bottle of Ocean Spray and I'm leaving the Walgreen's parking lot listening to a very cool Switchfoot song (which ones aren't cool?). The song proclaims, "We were meant to live for so much more / have we lost ourselves?" At this point, I'm half-way through Uncle Ray's potato chips. I grab the bag, turn it over and read what James 4:14-15 says (NASB - not that I have any issue with Unky Ray using the KJV, the NASB is just more readable):
Now, is there spiritual warfare going on here? Probably. Are there angels and demons carrying out some battle, invisible to my human eyes? Maybe. Are there things in this world that are constantly trying to pull my eyes off of God and His truth? Absolutely. Do those things include a bag of Sinful Sensations chocolate-chip cookies? Probably not.
My point is, if we are to really understand spiritual warfare, we need to understand that it is, in part, a battle for our minds. I won't find a demon around every corner in my house, but are there rooms that need "cleaning out"? If I look for demons behind every bush, will I miss the "sinful sensations" that appear right in front of my eyes?
Just food for thought.
I become more and more aware everyday how much spiritual warfare goes on in this world. Not too long ago I had no clear definition or understanding of what the words "spiritual warfare" really meant. For anyone whose only exposure to spiritual warfare is This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti (or something similar), when the words "spiritual warfare" are spoken, your mind may imagine warrior-angels doing battle with demons in some unseen dimension, the results of which somehow affect the everyday lives of believers and non-believers alike. For anyone else, what is it that you imagine?
I was in Walgreen's waiting for a prescription to be filled and I'm looking for a snack. I go to the "snack-isle" and begin perusing the potato chip section. I was just about to grab a bag of Ruffle's or Lay's when something caught my eye: Uncle Ray's Potato Chips. Well, I'm all for supporting the little guy, so I grab a bag. I glance on the back of the bag and notice the words "James: 4:4-15, Whereas ye know..." in bold font, and I think, "Wow, that's cool. Uncle Ray's doing his part to be a witness for Christ, in what some may consider a boring, dead-end job." So, I continue down the isle and see a big bag of chocolate-chip cookies, but it's not the cookies that caught my attention...it was the brand name: Sinful Sensations.
(Okay, the four of you that actually read this blog on a regular basis, just stick with me, I am going somewhere not-cheesy with this.)
The Sinful Sensation cookies stare down at me from the top shelf and I think, "What is this world coming to, when you have to advertise to people using the word 'sin' and it is actually meant to tempt?" That thought comes and goes just as Uncle Ray did, not fifteen seconds earlier.
So, now I've paid for my prescription, potato chips and a bottle of Ocean Spray and I'm leaving the Walgreen's parking lot listening to a very cool Switchfoot song (which ones aren't cool?). The song proclaims, "We were meant to live for so much more / have we lost ourselves?" At this point, I'm half-way through Uncle Ray's potato chips. I grab the bag, turn it over and read what James 4:14-15 says (NASB - not that I have any issue with Unky Ray using the KJV, the NASB is just more readable):
[14]Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.
[15]Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.
Now, is there spiritual warfare going on here? Probably. Are there angels and demons carrying out some battle, invisible to my human eyes? Maybe. Are there things in this world that are constantly trying to pull my eyes off of God and His truth? Absolutely. Do those things include a bag of Sinful Sensations chocolate-chip cookies? Probably not.
My point is, if we are to really understand spiritual warfare, we need to understand that it is, in part, a battle for our minds. I won't find a demon around every corner in my house, but are there rooms that need "cleaning out"? If I look for demons behind every bush, will I miss the "sinful sensations" that appear right in front of my eyes?
Just food for thought.
