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The Fog of War

Carl von Clausewitz was a Prussian general considered to be one of the most prolific and influential Western thinkers on the subject of war. You’ve likely never heard of him, though you’ve probably encountered his ideas. In his 1832 piece, entitled Vom Kriege (On War), he writes, “War is the realm of uncertainty; three quarters of the factors on which action in war is based are wrapped in a fog of uncertainty. A sensitive and discriminating judgment is called for, a skilled intelligence to scent out the truth.”

190 years later, warfare continues to be “wrapped in a fog of uncertainty.” Communications get garbled, soldiers misunderstand orders, units can become paralyzed with confusion.

Eastern military philosophers were familiar with the concept of the fog of war and used it to their advantage. Well known Chinese general and philosopher Sun Tzu writes, “All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.” (Sun Tzu, The Art of War). Sun Tzu’s ideas, 2,500 years after their introduction, continue to be standard military doctrine because they are effective.

Do you suppose that there is any application of these principles to spiritual war?

Satan and Sun Tzu were apparently reading from the same playbook. Consider the following:

  • “The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy . . .” John 10:10
  • “ . . . The devil . . . does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44
  • “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10
  • In the Garden of Eden the serpent deceives Eve by playing on her desires: “Did God actually say . . .?” He contradicts God’s word, lying to her, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:1-5

While Sun Tzu describes how to successfully attack an enemy, von Clausewitz gives us insight into how to overcome our adversary in spiritual war. “A sensitive and discriminating judgment is called for, a skilled intelligence to scent out the truth.”

Our posture toward truth can help us when all else fails. Paul commented to the church at Thessalonica: “They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” What is your posture toward truth? Do you discriminate good from bad, truth from error? How are your truth skills? Have you bought the lie that all judgement is bad?

To test your posture, consider some common daily habits and ask yourself a few questions.

  • What do you feel like when you’ve spent even a few moments on social media?
    • Do you find peace or encouragement there?
    • What is the state of your soul when you step away from the screen?
  • What do you read?
    • How does the content of your reading affect your heart?
    • Are you more equipped to walk with courage and boldness or less?
    • Are you strengthened or do you find it more difficult to focus on “things above where Christ is seated”?
  • If you were to write down what you do from hour to hour on any given day, what would you find?
    • What is the focus of your free time?
    • Is there adequate space given to God for growth in that relationship?
    • Are you giving time to cultivate truth in your mind rather than the incessant message the world inserts into your consciousness?

Jesus called our enemy the “god of this age”. He is a master of propaganda and makes the most of every opportunity to corrupt our thinking. He tugs at our hearts with images, stories or even fear-mongering diatribes that can drive us into a state of confusion, discouragement, jealousy, heartache, or despair. He uses deception to bring us to our knees, cowering and quivering before him, attempting to make us wonder if we’ll make it through this life intact. This is the fog of war.

We must make every effort to infuse our souls with Truth. We must remember whose we are and why he called us out of darkness. When we are tempted to allow ourselves to be crushed by the confusion, mayhem, and onslaught, we must cry out to heaven for intervention, leaning into the Truth. We must ignore the crushing weight of deception that would steal our confidence, joy, and effectiveness. We must remember to use the powerful and effective weapons with which we have been equipped (I will save a fuller treatment of these for future posts).

As von Clausewitz suggests, we must be sensitive and discriminating in our judgment. The best judgment is informed by objective Truth, not cultural relativism, overly emotional reaction, or some personal ax to grind. We must resist reacting by disciplining ourselves to look first to the Scriptures, their Author, and to the Holy Spirit for discernment of truth and error. We must sharpen our minds with the file of holy living and focused thinking. Only then will we be able to see through deception, not allowing ourselves to be outflanked by our enemy. We must have the mind of Christ.

Finally, we must embrace the truth that soldiers go into battle together, not alone. Those who attempt to go it alone get killed. Sometimes it takes a comrade to help us refocus our attention on the reality without rather than the fear/hesitation/misunderstanding within.

In the coming months I will be writing more deeply about the following questions:

  • What are the weapons of our warfare?
  • How can we have the mind of Christ? How do we “scent out the truth”?
  • What can we use to defend ourselves against the onslaught?
  • How can we engage our world in grace and truth?