Satan's Judo

When I was a young child, my father told me about how police were trained in Judo to control violent people. One of the principles was that the one uses the weight and power of the other against them. The person’s own strength and weight was used against them to control them.

As I look at the church and those of us in the church, I see a similar thing happening. God has given us all strength and “weight” which I see as a person’s influence. Each of us has been given great gifts. But more often that I would like to believe, Satan causes gifted and influential people in his schemes to subvert Jesus’ church. We unwittingly exercise our strengths in a way, that brings the spiritual battle between us. We know we are in conflict with the Evil one and his minions, but the battle becomes even more diabolical when we fight each other. When Satan deceives believers (Rev. 20:10), this is often the result.

In order to put the battle back where it belongs, with the “powers and principalities” (Eph. 6:12), we need each other. We need to not use our strengths and influence against brothers and sisters in Christ, but in a way that helps us each of fight the spiritual battle (Eph. 6:11) that Satan brings to us in trying to bring down the church.

Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” While we have the confidence that the cosmic struggle between God and Satan is over, nevertheless, we fight a spiritual battle as the “gates of hell” try to prevail. Let’s not become ammunition for the enemy, let’s love one another and so prevail for Jesus in the ways of Jesus. Let’s turn the tables on Satan in not being “unaware of his schemes.”(2 Cor. 2:11) Being aware of his schemes allows us to use his power and influence against him, not fighting as the world fights, but through the “knowledge of God” (2 Cor. 10:5) to “take every thought captive” and not let Satan use our minds and actions against us.

“Fight the good fight of the faith”… not against God and not against each other.