When was the last time you read through the book of Judges? It was a time in Israel’s history where they had no king (including YHWH), and everyone did what was right in their own eyes. 1375 BC, a little over thirty years after the death of Moses, a priestly descendant of Aaron (Moses’s brother) takes woman as a sort of secondary wife. For those studying along, this is going through Judges 19 and 20.

Truth is absolute. Then there is this individual practice of truth within every human being. It’s that sort of honesty even to oneself. In its maximum benevolence, it’s called integrity. In its most poisonous opposite, we pathologize our own lies as truth. And right smack dab in the middle, we find the majority of the human race. A weeping face beneath a smiling mask.

I remembered the time of my life where I worshiped my dreams so much that nearly every decision I made was colored entirely irrational. This is what happens when you dance naked around a breathless stack of wood: you ascribe divinity to your own will. “I deserve it!” I would think. “My talent is proof enough that I am destined for fame.” What a joke. What a total joke.

There is no other way to say it: we are at war. I never try to be cute with this blog or sugar coat anything. I write adventure fiction, but those tales flow from a heart fully convinced in the reality that is the great controversy between God and our adversary–that old serpent called the devil. I feel compelled this morning to write concerning our role in this war as the battleground of the trial against God’s character. I hope this article will help you in your fight.