Lately, I’ve been seeing on social media and hearing a teaching among my Christian sisters that we, as Jesus-followers, do not have to be warriors. And I’m thinking to myself, ” Nope. Nope. Nope. Not true.” I’m sorry, my friends, not trying to be abrupt here, but that thinking is just wrong. Not only is it unbiblical, it is very dangerous. Let me tell you why.

First of all, let me say that I am not usually one to jump on the debate team when it comes to my Christian friends and their faith-walk. God has had to teach me some pretty hard lessons and extend a lot of grace to me in the area of judgmental thinking and always having to give my two-cents on every issue.  He had to work on me to get me out of that attitude. People are on their own journey with God. I am not their judge, and I certainly don’t need to try to be their conscience. But there is something different here. And I have been mulling this over for months.

Here’s the thing. The enemy can trip people up. He’s tricky and deceptive, and covert, and I always want to expose his tactics. So many of my sweet friends seem to be caught up in all the feels of  “Jesus has got this. I don’t have to do a thing. He’s already won the war. I can just sit back and ride this thing out. The “fighting” is not my job.” It sounds really good, I know. So. Much. Easier. And it is true. Very true–when it comes to our salvation, and triumphing over death, and kicking Satan in the head to destroy his grip on our fate and our lives.

But what we are discussing here is very different. The moment that we become complacent or let our guard down or put away our weapons, we are sunk, and Satan has us right where he wants us. And believe me, he will take full advantage if we are caught unarmed. Sure, Jesus is there leading the way, empowering us.  But we can’t just lay down. We’ve gotta fight! I’m not talking about fighting with other people and their opinions. I’m talking about taking aim at the one behind all the evil. I’m talking about our fight with Satan. Satan and his demons are always armed and dangerous and ready to take us on.

Ephesians 6:10-12 says, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,  and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” So, if we aren’t in a battle, then why do I have to put the armor on? It’s heavy and cumbersome, and seems a little like over-kill if I don’t have to fight. And the flaming arrows of the evil one? Believe me, those are pointed right at us, aimed at our weakest spot. We need protection and defense.

And what about in 2 Corinthians where it says, “For though we do not WAGE WAR as the world does. The weapons WE FIGHT WITH are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds?” We can’t demolish strongholds if we are complacent. We can’t fight if we don’t take up our divine weapons. Sounds like a battle to me. Don’t lie down and take it.

The Bible says the enemy is a roaring lion seeking someone to devour, and he comes to steal, kill and destroy. He’s powerful. And if you’re not ready and able to take him on, he’s very destructive. Thank goodness for the weapons we have at our disposal. But we have to be armed and ready for the fight.

And that’s why I’m a little miffed at this whole idea of, “Naw, girl. You aren’t in a battle. Just sit back and relax!” I’m not angry at the ones who are saying it. I’m angry at the one who can use it to his greatest advantage, and start coming in to try to steal from and kill and destroy my friends. That’s where I get mad. Fighting mad.

So I say:  Girl, get your gun. Draw your sword. Hurl your grenades. Launch your missiles. Put on your armor and be a warrior. Fight like a girl. And I’ll be fighting right along-side you.

Jesus is our commander, and he’s leading the way. It’s all good.