The Bible tells us that, when we are amongst wolves, we are
to be innocent, or harmless, like a dove . . . but at the same time we should
be shrewd like a snake (Mt 10:16). Today I’m writing about innocence, and being
shrewd.
If you have been wronged by someone, you might wonder how to
return to innocence afterward. Is it by
trust . . . is it by mercy? How does one not accuse those who have accused
him? Is it by love . . . forgiveness? It
is clear that we are to be “wise about what is good and innocent about what is
evil.” (Rom 12:16:19) However, when we are experiencing the pain of being
wounded, is it possible to turn back the hands of time to when we had a pure
heart towards the person who now wounded us? Innocence seems like a fragile and
fleeting state.
How does such a fragile thing such as our innocence help us
when we are getting wounded? Our innocence is part of God’s spiritual
warfare. The word innocence also means
“harmless”, and “unmixed.” The goodness we feel towards people, when unmixed by
bad feelings, is a force that overcomes the evil in others. To be innocent, a
person needs to have purely good intentions.
“Do not be overcome with evil but overcome evil with good.”
(Rm 12:21).
As Christians, we value the innocence that keeps our
intentions “harmless” and overcomes the evil that besets us in the form of
spiritual battles. Our enemy’s weapons make us feel violated. When a person close to our hearts wrongs us,
the pain of violation is even greater. The temptation to strike back at them grows
with the deepening of our pain.
What our enemy wants is for us to use his weapons also. Satan wants us to speak against the one
accusing us, or to make ourselves look good and the other person look bad. He wants us to pretend we are friends and
then say bad things against people behind their backs. However, the pain of our
wounds is not what brings satan his victory; his victory comes when we join his
army and use his weapons against others. His weapons cause wounds to fester
into bitterness, destroying love. When
satan can use Christians against each other to defeat their love of one
another, he has won his victory. It is
time to take action before this happens. When we find ourselves on the
offensive in a spiritual battle, God has weapons that are greater than our
enemy’s.
“We do not war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons
of the world, on the contrary, they have divine powers to demolish
strongholds.” (2 Cor 10:4).
Here are some of our Godly weapons: Bless our enemy (Rm
12:14); Pray for our enemies (Mt 5:44); Love our enemies (Mt 5:44); Overcome
evil with good (Rm 12:21).
Using these weapons comes contrary to our nature. We need God’s
grace to endure the pain of satan’s assault on us through others. It is the
Lord himself Who will enable us to bless, pray, love, and overcome. God’s weapons not only effect the person who
has wronged you, but they protect your own heart from bitterness and hatred.
Which weapons we use, satan’s or the Lord’s, is a choice on
our part. We don’t have to dig up all the dirt on the one who wronged us, for
it is God who keeps score and ultimately judges all men (Rm 12:19). We can be
innocent of discovering the full extent of wrong they have done, and their
motives for doing wrong. We can be innocent, and wise at the same time.
When we are innocent like a dove, we should be shrewd, or
wise at the same time. We need to not
mix our weapons. If we give mercy, let
us do so cheerfully (Rm 12:8), not mixing in cruel barbs when the other
person’s defenses are down. I’ve found
that the best way to get to this innocence is by praying blessings on the one
who hurt me. It helps me to let go of
the incident, and finally return to love.
Love is the vehicle for goodness and without it all our good is superficial
and insincere.
Since our faith works through love (Gal 5:6), we can do
great exploits for the Lord when we love the one who wronged us. One hindrance to this work is to doubt that
the Lord will act according to our prayers.
If we pray for peace with the one who wronged us but retain thoughts of
war, we are double-minded. Our thoughts
of war may come from doubting God because we have not seen our prayers answered
in the past, at least, not according to our understanding. If you have no victory in your prayer life,
look at what might be defeating your faith.
Spiritual battles need a defensive strategy as well. Jesus
also warns us to “be on your guard” against those who persecute us. (Mt 10:17).
He cautions us to be strategic when we are amongst those who would hurt us.
“Do not give to dogs what is sacred; do not throw your
pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then
turn and tear you to pieces.” (Mt 7:6).
Sharing Christian lessons or personal confidences are
examples of giving valuable things to dogs and pigs. Sharing with those who do you
harm will not restore a relationship . . . it only opens you up for more
wounding. Sharing will not cause a man whose heart is full of satan’s weapons
to lay them down in repentance; he will only see your friendship and renewed
trust as personal weakness. It is by praying, blessing, and doing the
works of love that the evil in a man’s heart can be overcome. These are the
weapons God gave us, and by using them wisely we can remain in the state of innocence.
I hope this lesson will help those of you experiencing pain
from spiritual warfare and encourage you to pray, bless and love. God bless, Helen
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