In this time of spiritual warfare, I though it profitable to read the authoritative work on warfare, “The Art of War” by SunTzu. While I realize that this book is about physical war, I have found that much of it can be applied to the Spiritual Battles we all face each and every day.
According to Sun Tzu the art of war is governed by five constant factors: Moral Law, Heaven, Earth, The Commander, Method and Disipline
The Moral Law causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless o their lives, undismayed by any danger. For the Spiritual battle, God holds the moral law. It is to him that we must be dedicated. We must be in complete accordance with Him and His Word (the Bible). We must be so dedicated that we are undismayed by any danger that may befall us due to our willingness to fight for Him. We must stand when others will not, even if it costs us our reputation, our position, or even our life. We must be willing to charge through the gates of Hell in order to set free those that have been taken captive. To do this we must heed his voice as He gives direction, realizing that any hesitation on our part could lead to failure on the battlefield. When the call is sounded we must follow Him with unquestioned obedience, with no thought of self.
Heaven signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons. In other words it represents the external conditions that must be considered in battle. Realize that there are times and seasons when conditions are right for attack and when they are not. Knowing these conditions is helpful when deciding when to attack or when to expect an attack from the enemy. The enemy knows when you are tired, when you are weary, when you are spiritually hot or cold. He knows that you are more susceptible to his devices when you are alone at night, or after a fight with your spouse. He knows when you struggle spiritually, and we too must be aware of these times and seasons in order to foresee the coming attack. Victory goes to the one who is able to discern the times.
The Earth comprises distance, great and small, danger and security, open ground and narrow passes, the chances of life and death. Knowing your terrain will determine your chances of victory or defeat. Recognizing when you are in range of the enemy, or knowing the place he may hide in ambush is important in avoiding a conflict with the enemy. A fight leads to casualties and loss of supplies, so avoiding a frontal attack is wise. If you know that the enemy attacks you when you are around certain people, stay away. If you know that he uses the internet to trap you, stay away. If you know that he uses that person at work to tempt you, stay away. Know the lay of the land and plan accordingly. Avoiding these areas will lead to victory.
The Commander stands for virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage and strictness. You are the commander, and must there for operate in wisdom. Getting council from those that you trust and seeking God’s council will aid in this wisdom. You must operate with sincerity or honesty. Love, courage and self discipline are also required. Failure in any of these areas will cause us to lose the control of our lives. Failure to be wise makes us easy targets for the deception of the enemy, causing us to march headlong into his trap. A lack of honesyt will lead to a life of lies causing us to lose sight of who we really are. Love; a willingness to put others before our selves is what keeps us humble, and allows us to lead properly. A loss of love leads us to use others as shields or steps to protect or promote our selves. Without courage we retreat to the back to allow others to lead our battle, or worse we surrender to the devices of the enemy, and quit serving God. And without self discipline we fall into a mindset that desires to win the fight, but is unable to do the fighting.
Lastly is the method and discipline. These are to be understood at the marshalling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank amoung the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army and the control of military expenditure. As Christians we must understand where we fit in the army, and be faithful to be in that place at the expected time. We must recognize the authority of those over us and follow their lead. We must maintain our relationship with Christ through routine fasting, prayer, and study. During an attack is not the time to realize you have not maintained your roads. This means we must make good use of our time and resources. We must be about our father’s business at all times. Attack is imminent, and we must be prepared.
Sun Tzu says, “These five heads must be familiar to every general; he who knows them will be victorious; he who knows them not will fail.” Let him who has ears to hear, hear what the Spirit is saying.
