I have had many jobs in my life. I have been everything from a janitor to the president of a small record company. I have driven taxi and worked as an auto mechanic, I have managed music stores and worked on the clean-up crew at a meat packing plant. But the most difficult job I have ever had is being in ministry.

We have a saying in the ministry: “sheep bite”. Scripture refers to the people of Jesus as sheep and Jesus as the chief shepherd, with pastors being also called shepherds under him. “Sheep bite” refers to the fact that sometimes Christians attack each other and even the shepherds who are called to care for them.

Why do we do that?
Being a Christian can oftentimes feel like a literal fight to do what God commands while the world and the devil rage against us. We all experience inordinate frustration, high levels of tension in relationships, consistent dissatisfaction, and temptation in our lives, but what we need to understand is that when those feelings escalate, it probably means we are under heightened spiritual attack. Scripture often uses warfare terminology when instructing us, telling us to don our armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) and to brandish weapons not of this world (2 Corinthians 10:4). Our battle may not be like the battles of the earth, but the stakes in the spiritual fight are even higher.

Our enemy is treacherous, opposed to God who is the very source of everything good. He is the devil, leading a host of demons. Here are some attributes of this rebel prince: The devil…

• is our enemy (Matthew 13:39, 1 Peter 5:8)
• wages war against us (Rev 12:17)
• masquerades as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14
• comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10)
• is a tempter (Mark 1:13)
• is the accuser (Rev 12:10)
• is the father of lies (John 8:24)

Clearly, as Christians, we cannot stand idly by while evil wreaks havoc on the people around us. This is why we fight. But in fighting, we have to be aware of a potent phenomenon called the Fog of War. This is a military term used to describe what often happens when people experience combat situations: an uncertainty in situational awareness.

To expand on a war metaphor, imagine your company is moving through an area when suddenly you come under attack. Bombs are exploding, bullets are hitting things all around you, and you are not sure where any of it is coming from or how many enemies there are, but you know that you’re under attack and your adrenaline is spiking. In those settings, even though everyone has been trained for this, sometimes troops will just start shooting in the direction they think the enemy fire is coming from. It is very possible that you could injure or even kill some of your own.

I have never been in the military, but I have experienced life threatening situations. I was in a rock band with my brothers growing up in Wisconsin back in the 70s, and one night when we were coming home from a gig in Milwaukee, several guys were hiding, waiting to ambush us when we pulled up. I was in the truck when I heard commotion. When I came out, my brothers were already fighting and I was confronted by several thugs, who all jumped on me at once. I fell to the ground and they kept kicking me, so curled up into a defensive ball. I got caught in the groin and in the mouth. My tooth actually went through my lip. Then, I saw a guy going after my girlfriend with a knife. That changed everything. I got free and made it to the van, where I kept a shotgun for moments just like this. When I came out with it, in the frenzy of that moment, I could have shot someone. All I knew was that the people I loved were in danger and I had tunnel vision. I was in a fog. Thankfully, the moment our attackers saw the gun, they bolted, and I never fired it.

That Fog of War is just as powerful in spiritual warfare as in these examples. There are three primary ways that the enemy attacks the work of the church: conflict, apathy, and rebellion. These problems together create a C.A.R. stalled in the only entrance and exit to a church. No one is able to come or go and all of the church’s operations cease. This may seem like a mix of metaphors, but if you bear with me, it should all come together. Conflict is the first and foremost of the devil’s tools against the church. Firstly, I need to explain what I mean by this word. I am using it in a broad sense. I don’t just mean a disagreement or an argument. although it includes those. In order to convey the deeper intricacies of conflict and its destructive ability, I will provide a few examples.

Examples of Conflict You May Experience in the Church

• • Being rejected or ignored: walking past someone and not being acknowledged or making a suggestion that is ignored.
  • Feeling used: for something you have or a gift you possess.
  • Feeling overlooked
  • Being offended or hurt: for something someone did.
  • On the outside: a sense that there is some sort of “inside” that you cannot be a part of.

I must make it clear that all of these things have validity. You are not a weak person if you experience these things. However, if these things are not addressed well, this is where spiritual warfare in a corporate setting takes place. Apathy in this context refers to half-heartedly following Jesus, which we know is not really following Jesus. It is characterized by a low level of commitment and sporadic follow-throughs. In both a military and church community setting, this can cause added burden to the people who are already carrying a heavy load. It can be very discouraging to the leaders and faithful others because It will likely feel like they are pumping air into a tire that has a big hole in it.

Rebellion can come in many different forms, but what is important to remember about it is that it causes chaos and sabotages the efficiency of the church. Thinking back to our military imagery, imagine if one of the soldiers decided to stop following orders and abandon their post. Without that person doing their job, the entire mission would be at risk and everyone else’s lives would be at risk. In the church, everyone has a gift from God and a part to play which is essential to its overall operation and health. It never goes well to say no to God. Not personally or corporately, and the one affects the other. These are the types of weapons the enemy uses to launch brutal attacks in the church, and if we get caught up in the frenzy of this battle, we often end up shooting at each other. This is the Fog of War in spiritual battle. God has given us ways to combat this attack, weapons to fight our enemy.

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive thought to make it obedient to Christ.” – 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

Notice here that Paul talks about “arguments” and things that are against the “knowledge of God”. We are to take “captive every thought and make it obedient to Jesus”. This is a battle of heart or spirit, which goes right along with spiritual formation. It is essential to be transformed in how we approach spiritual warfare because all the enemy has to do is get us shooting each other. I believe this is his most powerful weapon against the church.
Our main weapon, then, is obedience to the Word in relation to each other. When there are valid issues with our fellow soldiers, we have tools to heal that, and they are at the same time weapons that defeat our enemy.

Weapons in Spiritual Warfare
Communication: “If your brother or sister sins against you, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you.” Matthew 18:15 – Don’t talk about it to others until you try to work it out with them
Humility: “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”-Ephesians 4:12 – Sometimes it is necessary to humble yourself before people you have wronged and ask for their forgiveness.
Avoid bitterness: “See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” Hebrews 12:15
Forgiveness: “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” – Colossians 3:13
Unity: “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”- Ephesians 4:3 – There is no community without unity.

So how do we get the CAR out of the way so we can get on with God’s mission for us? The simple answer is that we all have to come together and push it out of the way. But we can’t just run out there and push wherever we want. Pushing at different spots will not move the car an inch. But, if we all push on the same spot, we WILL move something. We all have to deal with hurtful and offensive things. If we handle them wrong, the enemy will win a battle. If we handle them right, the very same things meant to tear us apart will bring us closer, build us up, and make us stronger.

My parting words are these: we need to love each other with God’s kind of love. We, both as individuals and as a corporate body, need to determine with God’s grace and everything that is in us to do things God’s way. We must refuse to gossip. We must be humble and forgive, guarding unity in the church with all our might. God has given us all of the training and information we need to overcome the Fog of War. It is up to us now to practice it.