The Church: Harmony at Any Cost

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.—1 Peter 5:8

Some misguided Christian leaders feel that they must preserve harmony at any cost, so they do everything possible to reduce friction. They should remember that there is no friction in a machine that has been shut down for the night. Turn off the power, and you will have no problem with moving parts. Also remember that there is a human society where there are no problems—the cemetery. The dead have no differences of opinion. They generate no heat, because they have no energy and no motion. But their penalty is sterility and complete lack of achievement.

What then is the conclusion of the matter? That problems are the price of progress, that friction is the concomitant of motion, that a live and expanding church will have a certain quota of difficulties as a result of its life and activity. A Spirit-filled church will invite the anger of the enemy. This World: Playground or Battleground?, 112-113.

"Lord, thank You for the many signs that we are alive! Satan must see real life, and I guess that's a good sign. Give us victory though, that we might not succomb to his attacks. Amen."