War and Peace

If we are not at peace with God, we are at war with him.

Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you. Job 22:21

It’s not complicated. There really are only two sides; so pick one.  So many of us, since the beginning of time, have elected to go our own way, apart from God and apart from the lives he would have us lead.  And those who do, or have done so, believe they are doing so benignly, innocently. There is not always a purposeful hostility towards God, just sort of an apathetic view and desire to live life apart from his laws and truth.

Those that choose this path, though they do not see themselves at war with God, must recognize that, in fact, they are.  Many try to hide or pretend that God doesn’t exist so that they can live “under the radar.”  And life seemingly goes the way it goes, without interference—blessing or curse—so that one has only himself to blame or praise.

While, in effect, this is somewhat true, this is exactly where Satan wants us all to be.  Unreliant on God and living for oneself is being apart from God.  And so, Satan leaves those who live this way alone, for the most part, since they are benignly living exactly as he desires:  apart from God.  So then, one so positioned is aligned with Satan (at peace), and must, therefore, be against (at war) with God.

The irony is that those who live this way become angry at God for not helping them live their own lives as they choose, which is silly.  They will curse God because of what appears to be his lack of love. And resent his seeming non-involvement when trouble and strife do eventually come.

But ultimately, you cannot stand on the battlefield of any conflict without taking sides.  Historically, if a man belonging to one army failed to fight, he was considered traitorous and was often put immediately to the sword.  So for those who fail to choose, they already have.  That magical gift of freewill can, at the same time, set us free from God’s commands, while making us slaves to Satan’s desires.

We can choose not to believe in God or in Satan; in Heaven or Hell.  But that takes a lot of faith, faith that most who think this way cannot summon.  I can claim that I don’t believe in gravity, but that doesn’t make it true.  Nor can I defy that truth.  If I am going to exist in a universe where both exist, it makes a bit more sense for me to assume they exist, and live accordingly.

In any event, if one chooses to not believe in God, then he lives apart from God, and is therefore at odds with him, because of that unbelief.  And, if one is not for God, one is against God.   Ergo, one is for Satan.   Ignorance is Satan’s ally, unbelief is Satan’s friend.  You can’t serve two masters.

Failing to make a choice does not exclude you from the spiritual battlefield.  Either pick up a sword, or pick up a shield.  But in either case, you need to turn and face one enemy or the other.