Still Water Moments: What Weapons Are You Bringing to the War?
Ephesians 6: 10-12 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 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.
My all-time favorite movie is The Empire Strikes Back. This second entry in the original Star Wars trilogy focuses on the main character, Luke Skywalker, being trained by Jedi Master Yoda. I’ve seen this movie countless times, and over the years, there was one scene that always confused me. Luke senses an evil presence in a nearby cave and, at Yoda’s prompting, decides to go in to investigate. On the way, he grabs his weapons, and Yoda tells him he will not need them. Luke opts to take them anyway. Once in the cave he is confronted with an apparition of the villain, Darth Vader. The two end up sparring with their light sabers, and it ends with a pivotal strike by Luke. I had never understood why Yoda told Luke he didn’t need his weapons, yet it seemed he needed to use them to defend himself against Darth. Furthermore, later in the movie Yoda refers to Luke’s cave experience as a failure, which I also never understood.
Upon a deep dive study of this scene, it turns out the lesson was that whatever weapons you take into a situation, you are bound to use them. (I would like to pause and say this is not at all a devotional entry that is diving into the gun debate. Just to be clear, as you continue reading, you’ll find this particular devotional is about our flesh vs our Spirit man.) It is important to note that Luke drew his lightsaber first, and obviously, the significance of this was previously lost on me. Yoda wanted Luke to recognize that he was relying on his own strength and weapons in combat instead of “the force”. For those who don’t know Star Wars terms, “the force” has an extensive definition, but in a nutshell, it is an energy field from which a Jedi gets his/her guidance and strength. When viewing any of the Star Wars films, I have always likened “the force” to the Holy Spirit. Learning the meaning behind the cave scene endeared me to this particular film even more.
Many of us carry an arsenal of weapons, e.g., the tongue that stays ready to unleash at the slightest provocation; a pre-rehearsed mental conversation along the lines of, “If she says this, I’m going to say…”; or no tongue at all – the silent treatment. Then there’s body language: side eye, eye rolls, stone faces, crossed arms, and the list goes on... It is a wonder how the scene in the cave would have played out if Luke hadn’t taken his weapons there. Would he and Darth have had a clarifying conversation? A staring contest? Darth would have obviously won, but I digress :) It is important to note that a Jedi’s goal is redemption, not conflict. One of a Christian’s goals is to reflect Christ’s love. Even when we need to confront someone, it is still to be done in love.
Picture that person whom you find hard to love. When we handle them in our own strength, we spend a lot of mental energy preparing and thinking about what we will do. We will come up with various responses to every possible statement/action from the other person. Then, once executed, we will replay the scene over and over in our heads, and many times to others, just to get their feedback and agreement. The day is spent being worked up over an interaction. All of this is insulting to God because it is conveying that we can handle these situations better than He can. The alternative is to please God by allowing Him to have His way and use us to reflect His love. Additionally, the benefit of surrendering to His way is having His peace and thus contentment in being in alignment with Him.
When dealing with a difficult person, verse 12 of the focal scripture shows us that it is useless to get caught up in what the person says or does. I know by experience that this is easier said than done. However, the scripture tells us, it’s not the person but the spirit within them influencing their actions. Thus, our response must be in kind. The Holy Spirit influencing our own Spirit man should be the weapon of choice. Moreover, if the other person is in the wrong, He can deal with them because we’ve trusted Him with the situation, and His outcome will no doubt be more effective than anything we could have done. How much better would our interactions be if we normalized beginning our day, clothing ourselves in the armor of God, just as we clothe ourselves each day in our physical clothes? Making this vital adjustment at the beginning of our day affects the focus of the day and how we move, being a representative of Christ. This fosters a hopeful and encouraged outlook for the day ahead, which changes our interactions, which leads to having better days overall because they are Christ-inspired. The long-term effects of this are priceless. In the months to come, we’ll focus on the significance of each part of the armor of God.
Reflection: When in conflict with someone, what is your “weapon” of choice? How do you feel after using it? Is God glorified by it?
