Window Shopping in a War

by Al Menconi

We're in a spiritual war. This war is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual powers of Satan and his demons (Ephesians 6:12). For most Christians, it's a little hard to get worked up about this war, since we don't have the threat of real bullets zinging past our heads every day. But wait, there are real bullets being aimed at us--the immorality and false ideas of much of today's entertainment media.

Let me adapt an illustration from The Bondage Breaker, a book by Neil Anderson. Imagine you're standing at the end of a long, narrow street lined on both sides with houses and shops. At the other end of the street stands Jesus Christ. Your spiritual life is the process of walking down that long street to holiness and maturity. As a Christian, you fix your eyes on Jesus and start walking.

But this world is still under the dominion of Satan. The houses and shops on either side of the street are occupied by beings who want to keep you from reaching the other end of the street. They have no real power to block your path or restrain you, so they hang out the windows hurling lies, insults and temptations at you in an attempt to disrupt your progress toward Christ. One of the weapons they're using to launch this attack is the entertainment media. The more we entertain ourselves with empty philosophies, the more we're hindered in our walk toward Christ. If Satan can't keep us in his house, he will still try to make us slow down, stop, sit down and, if possible, give up our journey to Jesus.

Unfortunately, Satan's strategy works all too well. Many Christians treat their journey like a stroll through a shopping mall instead of a race through a battlefield. Instead of keeping focused on Christ, we wander around, casually window shopping at the enemy's stores. The longer we linger, the easier it is for Satan to hit what he's aiming at.

Satan can never again own us, because we have been redeemed by Jesus Christ and we are forever in Him (I Peter 1:18,19). But if he can get us to listen to the empty ideas of this world instead of what Christ has said (Colossians 2:8), he can influence us. If we allow him to influence us long enough, he can even control us.

This is why I am so concerned about what I allow to entertain me. I don't want to be just another target for the enemy in this spiritual war. I don't want to be strolling on the sidelines. I want to walk the walk and run the race for Jesus Christ.

Reprinted by permission of Al Menconi Ministries, Box 5008, San Marcos, CA 92069-1050, phone 1-800-78MUSIC.

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