I was recently hiking, when I read a warning sign containing instruction in case of an encounter with a bears or a mountain lion. The first 5 steps pertained to avoidance and prevention of contact, but the last line caught my eye because of its clear message: “If attacked, fight back.” This tactic refutes the old notion of playing dead in hopes of being passed over. I could not help thinking of the attacks on our community’s spiritual and family life. Many residents of Third Ward have chosen to “play dead” instead of fighting back. I hear all the time, “Mr. Kirk, marriage and family may work for you, but I’m not gonna have that kind of life.” Playing dead in inner city life means lowering expectations to the point of mere subsistence; it looks like fearful hiding out at home with grandma, playing video games, taking the crumbs. The problem playing dead is that spiritual attacks will not go away. People are devoured and lives are destroyed in the neighborhood.
While our battle is not against flesh and blood, Ephesians 6 exhorts us to take up armor for war. We may get lulled into forgetting about the spiritual warfare that rages for the lives of men and women, but it never stops. Jesus fought back and fights now for us. He did not fight physically, but He very tactically and deliberately battled for our eternal life by laying down his own life. Fighting back in the inner city means facing fears, struggling to find work, resisting temptations, and remaining vulnerable enough to really love others. Regardless of your live circumstances, don’t play dead. With love, with prayer, with service, with sacrifice, with your talents, and with whatever God has entrusted to you for the battle with the enemy, FIGHT BACK!!
