It’s a well known defense rule that you should understand your enemy. Knowing their strengths (what to watch out for), and their weaknesses (where the chinks in their armor might be) is of obvious importance.
But there’s also an often overlooked not-so-small nuance, and it’s that you have to know who your enemy actually is and who it isn’t.
When Jesus of Nazareth began to be known in Palestine, there were many different opinions about who He was. Some believed He was the Messiah and expected Him to conquer forever their enemy. Those who believed that were correct. The problem was that they didn’t know who their enemy was. Believing the Messiah’s purpose was to deliver Israel from the latest in their long line of national oppressors (the Roman Empire), many who had believed ultimately rejected Him when the Roman authority tried Him and Roman soldiers apparently subdued Him, beat Him and killed Him.
The irony in all this is that God allowed the wrongly perceived enemy (Rome) to kill Jesus so that He could – in the process – defeat the real enemy: sin and Satan. Also ironic, what ultimately gave His believers life was brought about by His death.
Many first century Jews didn’t know who their enemy was. Many married couples today also don’t know who their enemy is. It can easily become complicated, but to simplify it, your spouse is never your enemy and the only win in a marriage fight is when the spouses come into agreement. If one spouse wins over another, they both lose; their marriage is no better off and one or both of them got hurt.
The Biblical basis for this is that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers and rulers of darkness in high places. (In other words, Satan is our real enemy, never our spouse.)
But the illustration my wife often uses to illustrate this is the scene in the Mr. and Mrs. Smith movie. Brad Pitt’s and Angelina Jolie’s characters are both double agent spies assigned to kill each other. They try that for a time until they realize they love each other and decide to fight together against the force that has pitted (pardon the pun) them against one another.
In a scene in a sporting goods store, the army of ninjas coming to take the couple out (because they’ve rejected their mission to kill each other in favor of loving each other) tastes defeat themselves when Mr. and Mrs. Smith join forces and fight for each other rather than against each other, gaining victory over their real enemy while protecting their spouse, their love and their marriage.
May we married couples be so wise. And it starts by knowing who the real enemy is and fighting together against him and no longer against each other.
Married couples, KNOW YOUR ENEMY! And it isn’t each other.
