The Good Fight

Scripture:
"That by them you fight the good fight, keeping the faith and a good conscience." 1 Timothy 1:18-19

Observation:
It seems like there are two extremes in the Christian church. On one side, you have those who are willing to fight over anything. At the drop of a hat they seem to be willing to form debates, organize strikes, or just rip into people. Anger, paranoia, and legalism drape around these people everywhere they go.

On the other side, you have those who are not willing to fight for anything. They never stand up. They never say a word. They either do not care or they hide behind obscure passages of the Bible which speak to offering grace or being people of peace.

Application:
This is a challenge for me. I am a fighter. I do not like to fight, but when something wells up inside of me it is really hard to not act on it. At the same time, I am also a coward. In the heat of battle, I have been known to clam up and not say a word. While some people seem to rest on one side or the other, I find myself straddled somewhere in between. When faced with conflict, I often find myself wondering which is the right approach; fight or flight?

In this passage from Timothy, I clearly hear the call from my God to fight the GOOD fight while keeping my faith and a good conscience. In verse 5 of this chapter Paul lays out three things that I need to keep in mind. He says to go about these things with a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.

Prayer:
There are so many times that I forget You have called me into a war. It is a war which has existed since the beginning of time and will continue to be waged until Your return. There are many times that I do not enter the battle at all and there are just as many times I enter the battle as anything but a good solider. I pray this morning that you teach me to be a good solider.

Give a pure heart. A good solider in Your army never acts on anything less. Keep me focused on the salvation of others and to always act out of love; not selfish motives. Help me to always be focused on the establishment of Your kingdom and on reconciling You with those who find themselves separated from Your good will.

Keep my conscience clear. I believe that You have equipped me with an internal mechanism which alerts me when I am doing things outside of Your plan. I sense something inside telling me or alerting me to bad choices. Every time I blow past this voice, I end up living with regret. I pray that You help me live in a manner that strengthens my conscience and avoids placing ghosts in my soul which haunt me.

Teach me to have sincere faith. I want to own my faith and I want my faith to be real. This is often very difficult. It is tempting to take short cuts or to misuse scripture in order to prove a point. I pray that You work in my life in a manner that equips me to own a sincere faith in You.