Situational Awareness: Spiritual Self-Defense
Satan, also known as the devil, is real. Not only does the Bible make that clear, simply reading and watching everyday news of horrific terrorism and crimes of every sort is convincing proof that the devil’s work of motivating people to commit pure evil is rampant in the world.
The second element of the five SemperVerus components is AWARE, which means giving keen scrutiny to being diligently vigilant to your surroundings. It says:
II. Aware: heightening attentiveness to be alert to—and anticipate—dangerous potentialities and temptations, as well as edifying opportunities.
Being AWARE plus the sum total of the other four SemperVerus principles cultivates the strategic and tactical element of SELF-DEFENSE, which is the intelligent ability to responsibly protect yourself from menacing spiritual and physical threats.
Notice the inclusion of the spiritual aspect that is often overlooked when considering self-defense. In fact, in many ways spiritual threats are more dangerous than physical perils. “Our fight is not against human beings. It is against the rulers, the authorities and the powers of this dark world. It is against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly world” (Ephesians 6:12).