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| The ineffectiveness of worldly 'weapons' |
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The weapons of the world are completely ineffective in accomplishing our goals in any lasting or meaningful way, yet people still struggle to stop using them, myself included. Some examples of commonly preferred “weapons” of choice include sharply worded or sarcastic responses, storming away from a heated discussion, name-calling (you’re impulsive, you’re impatient, you’re inconsiderate, etc.) and the silent treatment, among others.
I see that use of such weapons comes totally naturally with my kids too. Funny how I never had to teach them this… Their versions include hitting/pushing, grabbing, revenge, name-calling, and mimicking. These “weapons” do seem to have an immediate effect, which I am sure is one of the reasons they are so attractive to us all. They just don’t have any lasting effect.
Weapons of the world often seem to be the preferred way to deal with struggles in an unsatisfactory marital relationship. Shouting, breaking things, name-calling, manipulation, ignoring each other, threats of divorce, and on and on. Why don’t folks see how little this accomplishes??? The problems just continue, and the bitterness grows.
Why am I writing this?
Well, it recently dawned on me that almost all of our struggles are actually spiritual, at least at their roots. Thus the weapons of the world may end the current conflict, usually rather messily, but the “spirit” that caused the conflict (whether sin in us or an actual evil spirit) will simply return, either in the same “host” (person) as before or in a new “host”. In extreme cases, even if a person divorces his/her spouse and goes on to remarry, they often fight the same battles all over again with their new spouse. (Statistics on post-divorce remarriages seem to bear this out strongly.)
Scripture puts it this way: 10:3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 10:4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Weapons of the world change NOTHING. Well, no, that’s not true. They can actually make problems worse. However spiritual weapons chase away evil spirits and change people (because they rely on the power of the Holy Spirit), and thus problems are really solved! Spiritual weapons include the Word of God, prayer, and the consistent life of believers (or Christ living through us). Lord, may I (we) wield these weapons with great success!
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| To add a comment to "The ineffectiveness of worldly 'weapons'" |
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| July 31, 2007 |
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Good post. Often times we resort to solving the fruit of the problem instead of the root of the problem. We hate to admit that we are thoroughly sinful creatures in need of life. Rather, we prefer to believe that we are merely sick. But we are dead in our sins. Thanks be to the Grace of God for breathing life into these dry corpses and saying, "Let there be light!"
Perhaps one of the greatest proofs of our Original Sin natures is the fact that you always have to teach a child to tell the truth, but you never have to teach them to lie. |
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| July 31, 2007 |
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Excellent, Reformed! Fruit instead of the root. Right on! If only we could easily distinguish the difference all the time. Spiritual weapons (those listed in my blog, plus perhaps others) are effective at attacking the root, but their effect is seldom immediate. The weapons of the world attack the fruit, the symptoms, their effect is short-lived BUT immediate. However, as I stated, they often cause more problems than they solve, or they make existing problems worse, at the root too. Great comment, thanks! ~mike |
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| July 31, 2007 |
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Mike, this is a great post.
The worldly weapons that you mention are indeed deadly. There is a old saying that sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me. Well we know this is not true, don't we? Wordsare powerful, negative and possitive. Words can literally destroy a person physically, mentally, and spiritually. That is why James warns us about the power of the tongue in James chapter 3 3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! 3:6 And the tongue [is] a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
Our tongue is very dangerous. Often, a person will speak negative words to bring harm to another; seeking to destroy him, even if only for the moment. But why? Because people seek to control anothers with their words. Words are tools used to bring a person under of the control of another or otherwise one person will seek to demonlish the other. There is a lot that can be said on this topic. Maybe one of these days we should explore it even farther.
--JR
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| July 31, 2007 |
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| Good words of warning JR, thanks for adding them. The tongue, a chief weapon in worldly conflict. O that we could all apply 2 Cor 10:3 and not fight as the world does!!! |
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| July 31, 2007 |
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Laura: So I should let you live?
Mike: Yes, killing me wouldn't solve anything. That's what I've been saying!
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| July 31, 2007 |
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I hope you all know, the above was said completely in jest...
I love this man with all of my life! He is an AWESOME provider for our family! The Lord has richly blessed us, with the gift of him....I love you honey! ~Laura |
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| July 31, 2007 |
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| omigosh, is that Laura? MY Laura, commenting on a blog? WOOHOO!!! |
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| July 31, 2007 |
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| Great advice...I am guilty of using weapons of the world on occasion, in my marriage, and it never solves anything. I need to use the spiritual weapons and the fruit of the spirit instead! Thanks for reminding me of this Mike! |
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| July 31, 2007 |
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A personal favorite myself is to scream with silence, while looking at my advisary as if to say "what" I didn't say anything. Boy it's much simpler when it starts with a prayer. 'Cause sometimes I'm actually wrong and believe me nobody's as suprised at that than I.
Which is my way of saying nice post I don't really have any thing intelegent to add.
Love,
Dave |
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| August 01, 2007 |
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Dave, the mention of your reliance on prayer is WAY intelligent!!! That isn't naturally our first response, which is why it's so easy to fall back on our worldly arsenal of weapons, seeking the momentary relief from that which disturbs us. Thanks for a great contribution!
Deb, thank you. We are all guilty of using them, at least from time to time. I know folks who use them routinely in their marriages, and they wonder why life is so rough. Attack, attack, attack, even use of the world's weapons in defense is seen as an attack by the ones on the receiving end. Thus the root problem gets worse, not better. Bitterness, hopelessness, and anger increase or linger. There is no room for these in a Christian marriage, where two people should be partnering in their ministry efforts and conveying Christ to a world hungering for hope! Thanks for your comment Deb!!
~mike |
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| August 01, 2007 |
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Hey Laura, YOU ARE REAL! Just kidding ;-)
It is nice to finally see your comment. We know of you by Mike and you look so much like "Lucy" lol. Hey, I guess a "nice meeting you" is in order.
Bless you and keep posting ;-) |
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| August 01, 2007 |
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| mike this here is a great blog. I like what you say about all our struggles bein spritual at the root. I think when we take matters into our own hands we are just masking the problem, and it might seem better for a while but the truth is that the problem still remains just under the surface. It's kinda like when people take cold medicine. They are treating the syptoms but once the medicine wears off they realize there are still sick. Thank God for Jesus! God bless. |
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| August 01, 2007 |
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Thank you Billy Ray! Yep, took me a long time to learn that particular lesson. Then, it seems to be especially hard for most of us to learn, b/c we tend to be very impatient. The world's solutions bring about immediate returns, which is so attractive, isn't it?
Hi Lourdes. Yes, she is a real person. I just haven't figured out what it'll take to get her on here more.  |
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| August 03, 2007 |
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| You might want to familiarize yourself with Conversational Terrorism tactics, if only to recognize them when they're used against you. Please do not use them yourself! If you memorize the list, it's amazing how you can start pointing them out in an argument! Bonus: Point them out in the Presidential Debate! |
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| August 03, 2007 |
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| Interesting link Eric, thanks. I am not up on the intricacies of debate, but willing to learn - a little. What is your point in bringing that up here, if I may ask? As an example of worldly weapons, means of temporarily appearing to win arguments while accomplishing nothing of lasting value? ~mike |
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