The world doesn’t fight fair.  Just watch election commercials for a few minutes even, and you will get a taste of the dog-eat-dog culture we live in.  Slander slides off lips easily.  Finger pointing is the norm.  If facts are twisted to make one candidate look poor, the gloves come off.  Revenge is sought.  Dirt is dug up.  Feelings are heightened, punches are thrown, and the surrounding crowd of spectators thunders in approval.

They want blood.

As Christ followers, we must be careful.  Watchful.  Satan invades our minds with thoughts of vengeance, complaining, and negativity every stinking day.  What do you do with those thoughts?  Do you allow them to pollute your mind?  Do you act upon the selfish desires that are rooted there?  Or do you hold every thought captive, making it obedient to what Christ wants from you?

Paul lays out a battle plan for the Christian in 2 Corinthians 10:3-6.  To the world this battle plan sounds a bit odd.  As a matter of fact, it sounds downright crazy.  Literally insane.  People will probably laugh at you.  Then again, Paul was the same guy who was singing songs in a dungeon of a prison at midnight alongside his buddy Silas.  The same guy who survived a stoning and decided to go BACK to the town to make one final point.

Paul was a bit of a revolutionary.  Here is his battle plan …

“We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do.  We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.  We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.  And after you have become fully obedient, we will punish everyone who remains disobedient.”

Life is about relationships.  Handling conflict properly.  Serving in humility.  Loving unconditionally.  If we are not careful, the thoughts that come into our mind have the possibility of polluting it.  Paul knows this and tells us to knock down strongholds and capture every thought.  Not just some thoughts.  ALL thoughts.  Think about that for a second.  There are plenty of thoughts that invade my mind on a daily basis that are not godly.

Man, that extra slice of pizza looks good.  That joke was pretty funny, so it is okay to laugh.  Even though it was flirting with being completely inappropriate.  That woman is quite attractive.  No harm, no foul if I just look.  My boss didn’t hear that comment I made under my breath.  It was okay to say.  I just had to get it out.  Maybe by posting this picture to social media others will think I have my act together. 

This is more difficult than expected.  How about you make your own list?  What thoughts enter your own mind?  Satan is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for a midday lunch, and if we are not careful, he will devour us (1 Peter 5:8).  Our enemy is wily.  Devious and sneaky.  He is that annoying mosquito that just won’t go away until it sinks its teeth into your flesh, sucking as much blood as possible. 

It is time to smash that mosquito.  Trap him in a crafty way the way he attacks you.  I like letting the mosquito come close.  I stay still, pretending I don’t see it.  Then, when it flies within striking distance, I clap my hands together or smash it against my skin, leaving no trace.  I wipe the goop off my hands and go about my day.  Some mosquitos win, striking me when I don’t recognize them.  Their itches annoy me for days.  Until they go away.

Do you ever get annoyed like that?  You know we’re not talking about mosquitos here.  We’re talking about the thoughts Satan pollutes our mind with.  These thoughts need to be captured immediately.  Like a TSA checkpoint.  Those employees are relentless, watchful, and steadfast.  They study film, read stories, and train on a daily basis to ensure passengers get on board flights safely.

Some of those employees might be thought of as being insincere, but think about it.  They have one job: ensure NOTHING gets by that checkpoint that would even have the remote possibility of threatening the safety of the passengers on the flight.  Most probably don’t care if they come across as jerks.  They have a job to do.  Guess what?  It is okay to be that jerk to Satan’s thoughts.

But how?  Let’s make this applicable.  Before exploring that, I need to give credit to where credit is due.  These thoughts are inspired by an amazing sermon I heard yesterday.  I will provide the link at the bottom, and I highly suggest you create the time to take it in.  It was such a timely message for me yesterday, and the moment it ended, I already knew it was my topic to blog about today.

The weapons of a Christian, much like Paul says, are different than worldly weapons.  Begin with prayer.  This is almost a no brainer.  Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:16).  It is healthy to ask the question of what would Jesus want me to do?  Give thanks.  Have a heart that prays for others’ struggles, not just your own.  Communicate with the Creator of the universe!  He is available 24/7, and He craves time with you!

Get in the Word.  Take up your cross DAILY.  Study and meditate over scripture.  Get a group of believers around you to gain different perspectives.  Don’t just stop with your daily devotion in the morning.  Read another one midday.  Substitute time scrolling on your phone to utilize YouVersion, a free Bible app.  If you make a habit of this, those frustrating thoughts that enter your mind will be captured.  Immediately. 

Hebrews 4:12 states, “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”

Need more?  Fight with faith.  “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).  Faith frightens the you-know-what out of Satan.  I don’t care what happens to me because I know my God is bigger than any trial I face.  Paul had that faith.  He laughed in the face of adversity.  Paul discusses this in detail in one of his most poetic passages ever.

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.  And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.  And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love” (Romans 5:3-5).

Finally, the Christian is armed with one last weapon, and it doesn’t even seem like a weapon.  The phrase kill them with kindness is TRUTH!  Jesus says, “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil” (Luke 6:35).  Talk about revolutionary!

Paul knew this as well when he says, “To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head’” (Romans 12:20).  The great Jim Brown used to use this as a tactic after being brutally tackled.  Brown would rise slowly from the grass, extend his hand, and say, “Nice tackle.”  What could his opponent say back to that? 

Are you angry about something?  Be loving.  Show trust.  Fight with the arsenal of a Christ follower.  Pray without ceasing.  Walk through the Word.  Fight with faith.  And kill them with kindness.  Be leery of every thought that comes through your head, and make it obedient to Christ. 

Song application: “The Jesus Way” by Phil Wickham