Christian Living

---

Larry Lilly's Letter Friday January 6, 2006

On the 5th day of this year I wrote about The Petrified Roman Soldier and received numerous comments about the article. Most of them were on point and complimentary. A few were not so, and I attribute the rude remarks to the upbringing, unmarried ancestry and IQ of said commenters.

One letter from a superior human being, Kenn Gividen, author of the widely read, ‘The Prayer of Hannah’ sent the following, glowing comment:

“Larry,
Excellent letter!!!
"Fight the good fight" implies there is also a bad fight; a wrong opponent (flesh and blood), a wrong battlefield, a wrong motive and wrong weapons of warfare.
Kenn”

While I am thankful to be read, let alone noted by a published author and former candidate for governor of our fair state, Kenn’s ideas on ‘good fight' and 'bad fight’ caught my attention after I got over the thrill of ‘Excellent letter.’ Now if I could only sell a few and feed the children!

In my opinion many of my brothers and sisters in the Lord might as well be one with the Petrified Soldier from Pompeii. They have been as ineffective as this relic of the destruction of Mt. Vesuvius due to a total failure to identify the nature of the fight into which they flung themselves and often their families and future.

The idea that we can accomplish spiritual goals through the use of carnal weapons as Paul calls them has destroyed many a Christian warrior’s effectiveness. We must not fight fire with fire, but with the spiritual weapons provided by and designated by the Lord Himself.

The acidic vitriol which taints many a theological, political or even methodological ‘fight’ is often as unscriptural as the ‘issues’ over which the battle is raging.

A soldier, frozen in cooled lava or one frozen in the wrong ideas, on the wrong battlefield, waging war against the wrong opponent and using the wrong weapons has as much hope pleasing the Lord as would the long deceased Roman warrior of our story.

One of my prayerful resolutions for 2006 is to avoid other men’s battles. I am more than willing to fight the Lord's battles as a weapon in His hand, but I will at whatever earthly cost avoid attacking good men who are serving the Lord, with whom I disagree over some issue or even past failure. Some of my friends would not fight alongside of King David or even Peter, but would sit in the stands taking pot shots at these and other men of God who have shot themselves in the foot along the way.

It might save you some grief if you use Kenn’s little note and evaluate your battles.

Larry Lilly Copyright © 2006 Use with credit.

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE