Friendly Fire

 Friendly fire is a military term which refers to the discharge of a weapon which results in death or injury among fellow soldiers or allies. Where friendly troops are mistakenly attacked in the belief that they are the enemy. But I believe we are all on the same side here. Are we not all soldiers for Christ! Are we not all in the same army? We need to know who the real enemy is! It is not your brother nor is it your sister! We do not fight against flesh and blood but against the evils and principalities of darkness. Our enemy is an unseen enemy! Only when we allow the Holy Ghost to work in us and through us, can we identify the real enemy.

   A number of things can lead to friendly fire. One of the most common is miscommunication. Adequate communication on the battlefield can sometimes be very challenging, especially in a chaotic environment. such as a social network ie Facebook! Soldiers are often fighting on land with which they are not familiar. Such as the internet! When being fired upon by enemy troops, the direction from which shots are coming can get confusing. With the internet it is hard to distinguish the meaning of one’s words or where they’re coming from. Are they teasing, are they belittling, are they judging? Poor terrain and visibility also contribute to friendly fire. Not being able to see clearly! When I can see your face I can get an idea of the meaning of your words. Is there a twinkle in your eye or are there fiery darts shooting from them? The tongue can kill as surely as a bullet in the heart. We all recognize that physical violence is injurious behavior, but so is mental and verbal antagonism. Angry accusations and words boil up from a heart of smoldering malice. That’s why it’s so important that we pay careful attention to our words. ‘In the old days, people condemned murder; and truly murder is forever wrong. But I tell you that not only are your outward actions under judgment; your inmost thought are also under the scrutiny and judgment of God. Long-lasting anger is bad; contemptuous speaking is worse, and the careless or the malicious talk which destroys a person’s good name is worst of all. Those who are the slaves of anger, who speak in the accent of contempt, or who destroy another's good name, may never have committed a murder in action; but they are murderers at heart” (William Barclay, “Words of Insult,” The Gospel of Matthew, Vol. 1, 163).

Brethren, we can be guilty of murder in the church ( Proverbs 18:21)! While we may never “pull the trigger,” we can still think and say things which kill our relationships with fellow Christians ( Ephesians 4:25-32), and in turn kill our relationship with the holy Father ((Psalm 66:18 ).

   Combat stress can also lead to a friendly fire incident in which a soldier mistakenly believes that he or she is shooting at the enemy. Are you fighting an inner battle of your own and just plain tired of the battle, so tired you can’t seem to see straight. I’ve been that tired! It is then we need to retreat to a place of rest and return with ‘new’ eyes. Spend some time away from the battlefield...rest awhile in the presence of the Holy One! Then we can come back into the battle full aware of who the real enemy is.

   I wonder how many in the ‘church’ have been wounded by friendly fire! How many times have we as Christians wounded other Christians all in the name of God? People, we need to figure out who our real enemy is and stop shooting our own soldiers! Only the church shoots their wounded and then leaves them laying on the battlefield bleeding...to fend for themselves. This needs to stop! We could be such a force to reckon with if we’d just come together in one accord with one mind and join forces to fight the real enemy and stop fighting each other. Stop the ‘friendly’ fire!

  In His love,

Elizabeth