I sometimes think that my second greatest enemy in the spiritual battles I fight is me. Of course, my greatest enemy is the same attacker we see in Genesis 3 in the first spiritual battle of history.
What was his strategy? To persuade Eve and then Adam to pursue self-centeredness instead of God-centeredness.
Advance yourself, your ambitions, your agenda instead of God’s.
“Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God” (1 Peter 2:16 ESV).
I am free because Christ won freedom for me. But if I serve myself instead of Him, my freedom becomes a cover-up for evil. That’s a powerful and sobering thought from God’s Word.
So victory in spiritual warfare is won by servants, not celebrities. If I want to know whether I’m living victoriously, I don’t need to look at how many people I speak to, how many people I lead, or how well I am known. Instead, victory can be measured by things like this:
- How many people that I lead honestly see me as a servant?
- Would the people I work closest with say that I consistently model pursuing God’s kingdom agenda or my own agenda?
- Am I consistently asking someone I trust to help me see the blind spots where I am self-centered instead of a servant?
I am so blessed to serve in a culture at Life Action that honors humility, honesty, and forgiveness. But lately, in the American church, I have witnessed some of the most blatant examples of leadership arrogance I have ever seen. And it’s been interesting for me to observe how blind the people involved are to what everyone around them can see.
It has caused me, in my current study of spiritual warfare, to run back to my Warrior King and plead with Him to help me not find myself in that same position. I don’t want to lose the war and not even see that I’m losing!
In these challenging days, let’s pray for each other. Let’s love each other. Let’s serve each other. And in that, we will find our victory.