Are you tired of fighting, whether at home, at work, in the neighborhood or in the world at large? If so, maybe it’s time for a higher sense of how God handles trouble.
God never goes to war.
Think on this for a moment.
The supposed war between good and evil has lasted as long as the human mind has claimed to exist. It’s constant. Hollywood has mastered the saga in its films that hold audience-goers to the edge of their seats. Star Wars, its sequels, and other smash hit films rely upon the ancient set-up of an evil force battling for control and fighters with more noble ideals coming to the rescue. The Bible is filled with stories depicting conflict between the dark side and virtue. But in the end, the question begs an answer, “Did God ever get involved in the fight?”
I don’t think so…
God doesn’t fight. God just loves.
Mortals fight.
I look at the example of Jesus.
In the early stages of his ministry, Jesus fought in different ways. He argued and discoursed with the Pharisees and scribes in the Temple. He kicked the moneychangers out of the Temple. He eloquently wielded the Word to silence his enemies. But when it came time for the crucifixion, Jesus put up his sword. He did not fight humanly anymore. He completely and totally yielded his future into the hands of God and trusted that all would turn out right. And it did. Truth was the victor. Evil was the vanquished.
I love this passage by Mary Baker Eddy in Science and Health:
“To infinite, ever-present Love, all is Love, and there is no error, no sin, sickness, nor death. Against Love, the dragon warreth not long, for he is killed by the divine Principle. Truth and Love prevail against the dragon because the dragon cannot war with them. Thus endeth the conflict between the flesh and Spirit.”
“Thus endeth the conflict…”
With God, there is no conflict. There is only God, good, Love.
So, if you feel like you’re in the midst of a conflict today, it’s time to stand on God’s side of the issue.
From God’s point of view, whatever you fear is nothing to fear at all. It’s as nothing to God. And can be to you, too, from God’s point of view.
Divine Love doesn’t go to war of course, yet in the old testment, the view of GOD was probably more “tough” and when “God” commanded Joshua to eliminate the Canaanites, on the other side of the Jordan, “every man woman and child”…well its hard to get my head around that.(The Canaanites were known for human sacrifices(babies), Idolatry…and so on…)…The were never entirely genocided…and were a thorn in the Israelites side for years to come……but what the heck? Eliminate an entire people? Maybe it has to do with the level of understanding that you are at at that time in your development and back then….its seemed “ok” to do such a thing…I do not thing that order would come down in this day and age…if so…it wouldnt be obeyed…or would it?
To above,
I agree, that God would never tell one part of His family to annihilate another. What you read in the Old Testament, was the peoples’ view of what they believed they heard God to tell them at that time. Their understanding of God had not evolved to Jesus’ later teaching of God as Love. They thought they had to get rid of a person to get rid of evil. The Christ method of dealing with enemies had not been seen and understood yet.
Jesus taught to love your enemies, not annihilate them. The real enemy is not another person, but hate, envy, jealousy, malice, etc. So, this is why you can’t take everything you read in the Bible literally. It gives a confused message. You have to go deeper, into the spiritual lessons being taught, and then you can get your head around it.
Hope that helps…
Thanks, Evan. This is an outstanding perspective with much to think about as applied to each and every thought and act in our day to day activities. I will continue to ponder and apply this today forward.
Thank you so much,Evan, for this wonderful post. In my very humble opinion, this is the best post that has been on Spiritview since I have subscribed. This post is definitely an eye opener for me. Of course, the dragon has already been slain and does not need to be re-slain.In other words evil, under any guise does not exist!!! Thank you again so very much. I shared this with my son, who is seemingly going through a very painful divorce. I am grateful to have this post.
At lunch today, my husband shared a challenging office situation with me. Your post could not have been more timely. I read it to him when he got home tonight and he was grateful for this perspective. The dragon just cannot war with Truth and Love, which is why Jesus commanded us to love our enemies. Mrs. Eddy wrote a cool article “Love Your Enemies” where she actually defined the “enemy” as our own misguided thought about a given situation or person. Anyway, thank you. Your daily posts are healing currents to folks like me and my family. Thank you so much!