Who Is My Enemy?
Introduction
A few years ago, a man went viral for sharing a story that was at once humorous, sad, and relatable. He shared with the world that his wife was upset with him because of something he did during the birth of one of their children. As he and his wife sat on the couch scrolling through pictures of their newborn, she noticed something odd. Sandwiched between two sets of photos of their child was a screenshot. The picture contained nothing nefarious or dangerous. Rather, it was a picture of an argument the man was having on Reddit. The man confessed to his wife that as she was in the middle of childbirth, he was in the middle of an argument with someone online about his favorite NFL team.
As strange as this seems to some of us, to others of us, this is perfectly normal behavior. After all, what could be more important than dunking on a stranger via the internet? I would be lying if I said it’s never happened to me. You read a comment about your favorite team, celebrity, or, really, anything, and your blood starts to boil. In that moment, you feel like you must correct them. They have to know how wrong they were!
It raises an interesting question: why do we do this? Much has been said of the ill effects of the internet, but that isn’t my focus today. What I’d like to focus on is something even more basic; it’s the concept of an enemy. I’ve been thinking about this a lot in reference to Ephesians 6:12. Right before he gets into listing out the Armor of God, Paul writes, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” What’s he getting at? I think he’s saying something profound about who our real enemy is, as well as the potential dangers of getting it wrong.
So, who is my enemy? I think we can gather at least two truths from this verse.
Truth #1: Knowing your enemy really matters
No blog post about “knowing your enemy” would be complete without a Sun Tzu quote. He famously wrote this in his classic, The Art of War: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
It is on this fundamental point that Mr. Paul and Mr. Tzu agree: if we fight the wrong enemy, we are winning the wrong war. How sad would it be to get to the end of your life and realize that you were successful in all the wrong ways? That what you were working toward was a mirage? This is Paul’s point to the Ephesian church. In the same way that the lawyer stands before Jesus and asks, “Who is my neighbor?”, the apostle Paul challenges the Ephesians with the question, “Who is my enemy?”
This brings us to our second truth.
Truth #2: Your enemy isn’t who you think it is
A few days ago, I wrote in my journal, “I have no enemies.” It’s a truth I am attempting to embrace, especially when I’m online. Though it isn’t a perfect phrase, I think it’s jarring enough to wake me up out of angry interactions online. Because isn’t this why we argue with strangers online? It is because our real enemy (you know, the Devil) has momentarily tricked us into believing that our enemy is on the other side of the screen. He attempts to convince us that our enemies are the ones who look different, think differently, act differently, and believe differently. He attempts to take our passion for the truth and use it against us as we fail to recognize God’s heart for those with whom we disagree.
Here’s a thought exercise. Ask yourself, “If someone looked at my online activity for a week, who would they conclude is my greatest enemy?” I don’t know about you, but this reminds me how far I have to go in this area. I am praying that God reminds me before I comment that the person I am replying to is someone loved by God. And even as I disagree, I should respond in a way that is respectful and charitable, while holding to what is true.
The good news is that even when we fail in this area, God’s grace stands out. What if God is allowing you to fail in this area to show you how gracious He is? What if God is trying to use your rage to wake you up to the fact that you are more vengeful than you previously thought? And what if He was inviting you into a relationship where you can confess these things to Him? Here’s my invitation: next time you are tempted to “destroy” someone online, type out the comment, then delete it. And instead, point those feelings toward God. After you have done this, type a new comment.
Conclusion
To close out this post, I’d like to point out another verse from Mr. Paul, this time to the Corinthian church. In 2 Corinthians, Paul writes, “Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.” I have highlighted that last clause to remind you that, as Christians, we have an enemy, but thanks to the love of God in Jesus, he is fighting a losing battle. And because of that, we don’t need to take every disagreement to heart. Rejoice in that truth today!
