THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR
It is imperative that every Christian has the mindset of the priesthood of the believer, so genuine followers of Jesus can impact their family, friends, and community. This is to be a legacy. It is not, do it when you feel like it. It is a duty…forever.
Peter, the disciple who tried to defend Jesus with his sword, in the Garden of Gethsemane, later, understands the ultimate duty of a believer. He writes in his one of his letters: 1 Peter 3:8-17.
- Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. (3:8). For a warrior, these commands are both easy and hard. Unity of mind, yep. Brotherly love, yeah – kinda. Sympathy – hmm. No sympathy for our enemy, but definitely for my brothers. Tender heart! You gotta be kidding! We can’t have squishy, softness, and be hardhearted, and hard charging!
Is tenderness really a command by the Lord?
If you stumble on tenderness, there is a problem for your future. Absence of tenderness will guarantee, bitterness with loved ones. A believer in Christ needs to cultivate tenderness. That’s essential. Your future depends on it. Oh, and don’t forget a:
Humble mind. Humility is necessary, and rare. “If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realize that one is proud. (C. S. Lewis). Humility is very attractive, while pride is a stinking cesspool, and only reaps pain: Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. (Prov. 16:18 ESV). A warrior should be humble. After all, God is humble: Who is like unto the LORD our God who dwelleth on high, Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth (Ps. 113:5, 6 KJV)
- Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. (1 Pet. 3:9 ESV). Payback is a medevac is not part of your reaction any more, if you’re a believer. ‘Bless’ is the command, and ‘blessing’ requires your obedience. The word, ‘bless’ is the Greek word for eulogy, which is a polished speech meant to laud and praise a person. So, if someone slanders or insults you, defeat them with a eulogy. Youza! That will take a measure of discipline and preparation that many have not experienced. The believer must train themselves to be able to let insults and reproaches hit your Teflon exterior and – then we honor our antagonist with a favorable pronouncement. That can be a wee bit of a challenge, and is not open for compromise.
Interestingly, if you do this, then what might you anticipate? “… that you may obtain a blessing.” Here’s a formula to some blessings that follow:
- For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit, let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. (3:10, 11). If one puts these attributes into their moral lives, what happens? For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer…. Do you want to prayers heard? Are your prayers of such significance for your lives and loved ones, that you petition the Lord for some result? Well, the Lord gives you an option; an if/then proposition.
Well there you go. Three conditions are laid out if you: desire to love life and see good days: a) let him keep his tongue from evil; b) lips from speaking deceit; c) turn away from evil and do good. The first two are easy, you just do not do something. The third requires an entire change in lifestyle. If you do good: then a promise follows: For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. The action is simple – be righteous! This requires moral behavior. This is the core battle of a believer’s life.
For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (Rom. 8:13 ESV). Paul in this passage makes no bones about it, life is war! He insists that you kill sin, or sin will be killing you – in your own life!
How?
You defeat sin, by living by the Spirit. This is martial language, meant for a warrior, and the Holy Spirit is your brother in arms. Together, you are able to defeat sin in your life.
Peter then points to a caveat: But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” (3:12). Hmmm, it is not a great idea to have the Lord against you. You’ll get the short end of the stick on that one. So, the formula is simple, not easy.
- Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? (3:13). Here, Peter makes a general statement. On-the-whole, if you are thoughtful and winsome, the rule of thumb is you’ll be treated well – no harm, no foul. Okay, that seems reasonable. But Peter throws the fly in the ointment, the exception: But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, (3:14).
In other words, there might be fallout even if you’ve been noble and moral, but don’t get wigged out. Don’t panic, thinking the formula has failed, or you’ve done something wrong! Peter assures you, even if you do things right, and you suffer: you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled. You’re not a victim, the Lord will manage the fallout. You do not need to body-slam someone. The Lord will handle it.
- But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, (3:15). If you trust the Lord even when you get zinged, it will be noticed, and people might want to know what makes you tick. Then it is an opportunity to explain about your peculiar worldview. Others might respect you, and might want what you got.
- But, this process must be your worldview, your philosophy of life. But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy. Do not stigmatize the Lord thinking he’ll give you a pass if you don’t offer the public the truth about him – He’s holy. Pure. Unsullied. Do not marginalize him, making less of him than he is. He’s awesomely good!
A believer incorporates these characteristics, and wishes to display them to a fallen world. Don’t marginalize this attitude, though you might suffer indignities for it. Having a good conscience, [Why?] so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. (3:16). Hmmm. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil. (3:17). This is the stuff of heroes.
It may feel like we’ve been driving 100 miles an hour down a winding road, with these thoughts. We’ve packed a gallon of info, into a pint-sized container. But slow down and consider what Peter is telling us. Take time and ponder what Jesus is instructing us to do in our personal lives, for our sake, and for the sake of our families and communities.
Trust in the Lord and have a blessed week!!
The Prayer of a Warrior to ‘the’ Warrior
Morning Lord,
Just wanted to greet you with my gratitude for you. Thanks for being there always. You’ve promised that: I will not leave you or forsake you. (Jos. 1:5 ESV), so I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you for always being You, being faithful to me, not ever taking a day off. Rather you are ever present, waiting patiently to hear from me.
I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. (Ps. 121:1, 2 ESV). I am encouraged by your faithfulness to me, and I can be the man you’ve called me to be because you are with me. Touch me today Lord so I have a sense of your call on my life. Guide me with your Spirit so I’m aware of things, that I’ve not pondered, that I’ve overlooked or ignored. Let me experience new revelations about your goodness to me and let me be thrilled with small things that have great significance.
Help me to be kind to my family. Let me represent you to them. Let my family know there is a living Lord, because you make an impact in my life. Let them see changes in me, so they can see the reality of you.
Let my time in the community be a time of ministry, from the smallest of details, to major moral decisions. Let each of my decisions, be the choice you would make and be proud of. Let the world know of your glory through my behavior.
Finally, Father, provide me with the strength and resource to be satisfied in you. Remind me all day that you are fully able, to meet my every physical, emotional and spiritual need. With this I think I can be better able to represent you to a lost and hopeless world. I’m praying this in Jesus’ name, because he would have prayed this for me. Amen
