Be Belligerent

There are two major forces we are dealing with at any given point in our lives. One, is the force that the world imparts upon us, the other the force that God imparts to us. Our choices are influenced heavily by how much we give into these two forces. For every human being who has ever lived, except Jesus, we have surrendered to the force the world imparts at least sometimes. At any given time, we are in some level of surrender to the world (used interchangeably with “self” or “self-interest), and in some level of surrender to God. Our goal, of course, is to be wholly in surrender to God, and completely against the forces of the world. Only at this point would we truly have the “whole armor of God” on. This is where beligerence comes into play.

Belligerence is the act or state of being at war. It is conflict. Its connotation, when applied to a person often means “headstrong” or “stubborn.” The less you surrender towards the world, the more belligerent you are towards it. You fight, you assert the rights of men, you change things and rock the boat if you are surrendered to God and belligerent to the world. I just wanna talk for a bit about what fuels my belligerence.

I call debating “sharpening my sword.” When I am debating stuff thats theological, scientific, etc… or reading the Bible or any other good book, I feel as though I am training. Getting ready for battle. Because battle will come, the world will come and demand you bow to it. The devil will demand you that you surrender to his forces. You must know how to defend, and how to strike back. If you do not have the knowledge (or you are not seeking knowledge), you will not be able to defend yourself. You will be untrained in how to wield your sword. But when you have knowledge, you have gotten understanding from God, and you are well read in Scripture and in science, you are an expert swordsman, an unstoppable force. Of course “unstoppable” is the ideal right? Everyone falls short of that. But if you always shoot for perfection, you will generally land somewhere in the vicinity of greatness.

The other thing, which comes from knowledge, prayer, and understanding of the Word of God, is confidence. This idea can be found in the Bible when Paul mentions “Peace which surpasses all understanding.” You gotta know that you know that you know that you know what you know and why you know it. When everything comes together in one harmonized symphony through full surrender to Christ by believing Him and seeking to be like Him, you are confident. You are then ready to take on the world and, as Timothy 6:12 says, “Fight the good fight of faith.”