The Enemy Within

Don’t forget to wash your hands.

Don’t forget to wear your mask.

Don’t forget to distance yourself.

Our family returned to Texas this week and with it returned to the reality and burden of COVID-19 as Texas case numbers rise and hospital occupancy falls. Vacation for us this year in the mountains was an opportunity to largely be away from the constant reminders of this threatening disease. While masks are mandatory in Colorado, they do not have to be worn on trails or at our family cabin.

News could be avoided. Decisions felt easier to make. Therefore, if I”m honest with myself, the temptation to never enter back into real life was more present than ever before.

Then, in my morning devotion, Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon, I was reminded of an even more dangerous enemy.

“I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you.” Psalm 73:22 ESV

Me.

There is an enemy resides in my very heart: sin.

Sin, in short, simplistic terms, is an act of disobedience against God and his law. It is a reigning desire for something that is not of God.

Sin manifests in many ways: pride, envy, lust, jealousy, bitterness, grumbling, slander, murder, gossip, willful disobedience, etc. Sin separates us from the life God intends for us; primarily a life lived in close fellowship with him, and the Bible says the consequences of sin is death: death of relationships, death of love, death of hope and death of life to name a few.

We have allowed our desires to reign supreme and subsequently have experienced death in some form even if we would not consider ourselves a believer in Jesus. Each time we grieve the death of a loved one or the death of a failed marriage, disappointments in relationship or the hurt caused by piercing critical words, we are experiencing the consequences of sin and the brokenness of God’s original design.

The harsh reality that we cannot distance ourselves from sin, keep sin contained by simply wearing a cotton covering, or scrub it away with the harshest germ-fighting elements is humbling.

Is it possible as the children of God, that we are focused on fighting the wrong enemy?

As the church divides and argues over the response to the Coronavirus, to mask wearing, to social distancing, perhaps it would behoove us all to remember first and foremost our greater enemy. This enemy is not of flesh and blood. This enemy is one, who from the beginning, has raised questions in hearts and minds about the goodness of God. This enemy turns each failure into crushing guilt and shame. This enemy, whose primary desire is to see the destruction of God’s children, is alive and working in each one of us.

We can stay so focused on protecting the outside of our bodies and staying away from those who might defile us with disease, that we have nothing left to spiritually and physically fight the enemy within. It has become clear with violent protests and social media posts alike that we have the ability to do far more damage than any virus.

As Matthew reminds us in his gospel,

It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” Matthew 15:11 ESV

Mark also emphasized these very words of Jesus in his gospel,

“Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” “Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?”

 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” Mark 7:14-22 ESV

The good news?

We have a Savior who rescues us from a life enslaved to ourselves. He rescues us out of a life of bondage to the things of this world that seem to have power over us. He slows the spinning cycle of apathy and indifference and spurs us on to love and good deeds by his death on the cross.

We are not alone. We have the very power of God accessible at any time to help fight even the most powerful of desires.

Yes, wash your hands.

Yes, wear your mask.

Yes, be wise and distance as you feel necessary.

But, may we also pray this together and continue fighting the good fight against a greater enemy than any sickness, any flawed leader and any health mandate.

This enemy cannot be escaped on a vacation or by schooling from home, and it requires us every day to fall at the feet of God and pray for His help and His grace as we continue on this journey of faith.

God, please forgive me for focusing on everyone else and forgetting that the greatest enemy I have is the one that lives inside of me: my own sinful heart. Help me to not forget that I’m fighting a bigger enemy, one that can lead to true death and separation from you. May I not be deceived by the noise of this world, and to remember that the only thing I have to fear is not seeking after you for my only comfort, my only hope and my only answer. Thank you that you cover the most wicked of sin in my heart with your steadfast and sacrificial love. It is by this love, the very name of your son Jesus that I pray, Amen.