3 Reasons You Can’t Win Spiritual Wars On Political Battlefields

No matter what issues crop up in society today, there is one entity people consistently turn to for answers and solutions: the government.

Homelessness, poverty, blue collar and white collar crime, inflation, unemployment (and underemployment), heath issues, moral depravity, civil engineering, pornography, human trafficking, widespread apathy… all of these intra- and interpersonal problems have one thing in common. We expect the government to do something about it, or at the very least, acknowledge that it is a problem.

What’s more, most–if not all–of these problems crop up from spiritual sources. After all, not everyone thinks pornography is bad. For those who do, well, it’s pretty self-explanatory.

This creates a spiritual conflict. For two groups of people to have differing views on a matter as blatant and extreme as pornography points to moral and spiritual concerns. The two groups may well have their different views, but it must be settled in some way.

So, why do we turn to the institution of government to address problems like these? Is the government capable of or even qualified to address spiritual matters?

It’s because everyone seeks some kind of authority figure to “set things right” in the world. Whether you believe pornography is right or wrong, human trafficking to be acceptable or unacceptable, you gain your worldview from some kind of authority and source of moral law.

Of course, some view “right” as subjective, and the idea of authority is inherently subjective, no matter what your beliefs are. Subjective definitions of authority are especially applicable in a worldly sense.

No matter what belief system you live by, authority is present. Whether it’s your parents, the government, your country, a boss, God, your partner, or something or someone different, there’s an authority figure somewhere in it.

This isn’t always the case, but many who have rejected God as their authority have accepted the government as their authority. The presence of authority never disappears; it simply changes based on what an individual believes, who they follow, and the validity of their authority (or its respective lack thereof).

All this being said, why is government so commonly utilized as a “solution” for societal, and usually spiritual, problems? Let’s look deeper at some of the top reasons:

Politics Exists in the Physical World; Spiritual Beings Exist Outside of It

The first and simplest reason people turn to government for solutions is because it can be seen and heard. When you can physically interact with someone or something, it’s easier to wrap your mind around it.

Humans innately prefer things to be easy, understandable, and comfortable. Most people accept a worldview that only accounts for the here and now, because this is more emotionally and mentally comfortable.

Interacting with God inherently means you are communicating beyond the physical. This can seem foolish, impractical, or useless for those who don’t agree with it or see its value.

Accordingly, many people prefer to outsource the authority over their lives to humans they can see with their own eyes. It provides a greater sense of comfort and security, especially in times of uncertainty and hardship.

Political systems are what humanity has been using for centuries to govern people, manage resources, and make decisions for society. Humans are wired to seek leaders, especially in group situations. Systems that allow people to have some say in who guides a group have been the default for much of human history.

Unfortunately, human government is precisely what a spiritual enemy would leverage to inflict harm. One of the craftiest tactics any enemy would use to distract people is foster their trust in someone who ultimately will not help them.

This is done by saying the right things, looking the right way, being placed in positions of power, and ultimately acting as the solution to manufactured problems. Spiritual problems are real issues with deeply-rooted sources; manufactured problems may or may not be real issues, and are often “created” independently of those who are responsible for them.

Positioning the government as a trusted source of solutions for all of one’s problems is a cunning trick indeed. It convinces people that they aren’t responsible for their own doings, they can get spiritual problems remedied through physical means, and they don’t need to step beyond the physical world. Government is the ultimate earthly scapegoat for individuals in spiritual peril.

What’s more, government isn’t all bad all the time. It would be dishonest of me to say that the government has never provided any kind of help to people, ever. Clearly, being able to keep food on the table in a time of personal hardship is a good thing (and that’s just one simple example).

However, that’s kind of the point. Dealing with a person or organization that is always oppressive means you’d never have trust in them. Trusting a government that does some good and some bad is easier, because you can’t point to the fact that they’ve always done the wrong thing. It creates some cognitive dissonance where you don’t feel great about putting more trust in them, but you don’t know where else you can turn.

Therefore, to ignore the spiritual world is to ignore how human, earthly constructs like government are simply pawns in the hands of spiritual beings. It is to look at what’s happening in the foreground and miss what’s happening in the background.

Politics is used by both benevolent and malevolent spiritual beings to influence human events in different directions, but it is not the final game. It’s simply used as one structure of many to distract the unaware from real problems and make it harder for them to win the actual battles.

Politics Is an Earthly Institution; Spiritual Laws Preside Over All of Humanity

The second reason the political realm is elevated is because it’s an earthly institution. Humans created it, they continue to foster it, and most want to see it move forward in some way.

Because political systems are created by humans, they can only be used to affect humans, not spiritual beings. Changes in policy, government power, and individual freedoms only affect humans’ physical outcomes, not their spiritual ones.

Fostering societal improvement through governmental policy change is of some value because it helps humans in the here and now. Sadly it doesn’t have any effect for life beyond death, because humans permanently leave the physical world and enter the spiritual world.

Because we already know that spiritual beings use human governments to influence human events, it follows logically that the spiritual world’s laws preside over those of the human world. Because of this, it’s foolish to attempt interacting with the spiritual world using only human means.

In order to influence spiritual outcomes, one must be working with spiritual tools. Such tools include clarifying and understanding one’s worldview, knowledge of the spirit world, spiritual weaponry like Scriptural knowledge, and prayer.

It also makes sense to see human laws and institutions in the context of the spiritual world, because the latter ultimately controls the former. The more you understand spiritual laws and how they affect the human world, the more effectively you can understand what is going on in the world.

Many people are shocked or put off by the idea of the spiritual world being in control of the physical one. Believing anything else is a grave mistake, though, and it’s exactly why some people put all their faith in government.

To believe that changing human laws and how they’re enacted changes the moral or spiritual landscape is precisely why many try to fight spiritual battles on physical playing fields. In order to win spiritual battles, you must fight on spiritual battlegrounds.

Spiritual battlegrounds cannot be seen, heard, or touched, which is why many people don’t believe they exist at all. Instead of seeking the truth and fighting where it’s most necessary, many simply try to work out their deepest of personal struggles on political battlefields. It has the closest resemblance to spiritual realities without being a spiritual realm itself.

Political Battles Are Waged for Control Over Humans; Spiritual Battles Are Waged for Sovereignty Over Souls

The third reason spiritual battles can’t be won on physical playing fields is because they deal with different terms of victory. Political conflicts are waged to exercise greater control over humans; spiritual battles are waged to control humans’ very souls.

Aiming to influence human life, such as how much people are taxed or what laws exist where, is something most people can wrap their minds around. People want to live in a world that they feel they have some control over, or at least their individual lives. This is part of why people get excited when governments take actions that support their personal views, and get angry and divisive when governments go against their views.

Dealing with human souls and their ultimate fates, however? That’s a completely different story. To even believe the spiritual world is real, it requires someone to acknowledge worldview truths and accept that unseen realities dictate seen ones.

To fight for souls rather than physical needs also necessitates prioritizing individuals over worldly comforts. You can’t have equal priorities of making as much money as possible and winning souls for their good. One takes precedence, because you have limited time and resources as a human.

In the end, most people prefer influencing what they can see and touch over what’s invisible. That doesn’t mean what can’t be touched is any less real, though.

Every human must decide whether they are going to prioritize political battles or spiritual battles. You can be involved in both, but the latter influences the outcome of the former. It’s wise to allocate your resources towards the more urgent and important of the two.

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