“For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12” (WOB).
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The Family
It is quite a statement
made by the Apostle Paul in the above verse. And it raises the question, is
there any evidence in society that demons influence us?
Let’s take a particular example I have in mind: The family; the very structure of civilisation.
There was a time when all the family went to the same store for clothes. There was a time when all the family spoke the same language. There was a time when all the family listened to the same music. But that is all changed in the last two centuries. If you have someone who speaks a different language, wears different clothes, and listens to different music, you have a foreigner. A foreigner in your own home.
Now think of sit comes and dramas that make father stupid and children who know best. Think of the aggressive language among family members in the soaps. Think of the way children and youths address their parents and talk about their parents and promoting the idea that parents can be an object of abuse. Now with the emergence of the cyber-sea, we have children isolating in their own room addicted to computer games and their own television and smart phones. Added to that is the dangerous predators that pray on youths on social media.
With the family crumbling, the support mechanism crumbles also, we now have a pandemic of depression, drug addiction and alcohol addiction.
Young people also grow up with the idea that outer beauty is of more value than inner beauty.
In addition, we have the me-first culture that breeds narcissistic values and the I and the Me stand erect like Terracotta warriors.
The family is crumbling before our eyes. So, what is the solution?
Everyone in the family is an individual that needs a voice and a need to be heard. If a child goes in a huff, there must be a reason. If there is aggressive speech, communicate your feelings in a private discussion. If you have an issue with a child, parent, or sibling, speak to them alone and not to others. There is no point in building up resentment and being stressed. You do not know a person well unless you talk with them and find out their feelings and why they act the way they do. If there is a dominant character in the family, communicate your feelings in the spirit of mildness. Finally, have a family discussion regularly with God’s word as a focus There is no point in building up resentment and living a life of stress. Find value in the family by listening and acting. No family is perfect, but they can be happy with good focus. Remember, there is powerful forces at work.
“…with all lowliness and humility, with patience, bearing with one another in love, being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:2-3 (WEB).