I was interested to read many of the comments on my last
blog about the slaughtering of a goat. Many were interested in the concept of bringing back the spirit of violence that I believe we are lacking as a church. Let me first say that, while I’d love to take credit for it, the term “spirit of violence” was first introduced to me by Andrew Shearman, my dad’s mentor. I caught hold of his message and went with it.
blog about the slaughtering of a goat. Many were interested in the concept of bringing back the spirit of violence that I believe we are lacking as a church. Let me first say that, while I’d love to take credit for it, the term “spirit of violence” was first introduced to me by Andrew Shearman, my dad’s mentor. I caught hold of his message and went with it.
When I talk about a “spirit of violence,” I am not referring to blood and guts violence. (True, I did mention the term in the frame of killing an animal – blood and guts. I ought to have put a disclaimer in my last blog.) I’m talking about taking back the Kingdom of God. I’m talking about maintaining a mentality of confidence in the battle. We are in a constant battle against the enemy and it is “not of flesh and blood.” This is a spiritual battle and the weak will not survive. It’s a battle for our souls and the result of what we do in the battle has eternal repercussions. It’s what Jesus is talking about when he says “The kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.” Or in the NAS, “The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.”
In the killing of a goat, my intention was to do a couple of things:
1. I wanted to bring this team back to reality a bit. Meat purchased on a counter comes from an animal which had to be killed to get it. And we were going to eat meat for our feast. Killing an animal is not wrong; in fact the first being to ever kill was the Lord (Gen. 3:21). Under the new covenant, his command was to “kill and eat” (Acts. 10:13).
2. I wanted to promote a spirit of violence. True, in this case the violence took place physically, but it’s about a mentality. A mentality of confidence and truth, an understanding of what it takes to take a life. God entrusted us humans as rulers over the earth and everything in it. He delights in our enjoyment of his great creation. Sometimes it takes a violent act to appreciate this creation – an animal has to be killed to appreciate the eating of its meat, the enemy has to be pushed back to fully appreciate the kingdom of heaven on earth.
Perhaps the killing of a young goat was not the optimal way to promote a spirit of violence I believe a man ought to have. Taking the life of an animal is gruesome. Many a great man have understood the spirit of violence as a spiritual mentality and chosen to appreciate the good meat he can buy from a grocery store – avoiding the kill and focusing their attention on what really matters.
So, what I’d like to focus on is the mentality of a warrior. That we are soldiers in a spiritual battle for the bride of our Lord. If I’m fighting for the bride of my best friend I’m going to become quite violent. Much moreso if it’s for the bride of my Lord! And this is the position of a man – to protect his bride. Sometimes the Lord chooses to use us, sometimes he chooses to come down from heaven and defend his chosen all by himself (2 Kings 20:35). In the next couple of blogs I’d like to discuss spiritual violence, or the spirit of violence. I welcome all participation!
