Authorities in Munich, Germany have issued arrest warrants for 13 suspected US Intelligence agents accused of kidnapping a German national. Although the US has not yet responded to the arrest warrants, this case and a similar case in Italy has brought the implications of taking captives into the field of discussion. Noise is coming from both sides - those who feel that this is a necessary part of the war on terror and those who believe that it's kidnapping and should be viewed as criminal. (Information taken from Reuters: AlertNet 09, Feb 2007). Despite the eventual outcome of these incidents, the snatching of prisoners will always be a part of the entanglements of war. Captives are often invaluable sources of intelligence about enemy plans, positions and actions. Special Operations warriors will likely always be called upon to gather human intelligence even if it means taking captives. It's among the weapons in our arsenal to thwart the evil intentions of our enemies.

Without making any assumptions about this case in particular, it makes sense to me that our enemies are not held to the borders of the nations in which we're at war. Within the borders of an ally nation, there is no threat of bombs dropping - no restrictions on where to travel - no military checkpoints to have to navigate. The enemy grows bold under the protection of this ally nation's sovereignty. He meets with conspirators openly, thinking that no one is watching. How are his actions and movements changed by the threat of being snatched off any street at any time? How free do our enemies feel to plot horror against us if they know that our Special Operators are watching and listening? One night our enemy lays his head on the pillow of a false sense of security. Believing that his intentions have gone unnoticed, he rests patiently, waiting for the right opportunity to unleash hell. But he's wrong. We have guys on our side who don't sleep. His quiet is decimated by an awful violence. The door explodes off its frame - a flash of intense, white light blinds him. The thunder and the lightning struck at once, leaving him helpless and confused. With stunning speed and ferocity, he is ripped from his bed, bound and in custody. In and out. It's over in minutes.

2 Corinthians 10 addresses the issue of our spiritual warfare and the weapons in our arsenal. Verse 5: "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." How deliberately do you practice this verse? Do you take every thought captive? Or does your enemy have safe haven and unrestricted movement in your thoughts?

I've become acutely aware of my own laziness in the business of taking captives. I was recently shoveling snow from around my car so my wife could get in and pull out without having to trudge through it. As I hoisted the shovel-fulls over my right shoulder, I failed to notice that I was throwing the snow onto the front walk that I had already cleared - creating twice the amount of work on this 11-degree morning. When I realized what I'd been doing the first thought in my mind was, "You Idiot!" I'm often guilty of this sort of thing, but this time it struck me. Where is thought really coming from? Do I actually believe that I'm an idiot or is this a cruel lie about me that I'm giving unrestricted access within my mind? How would I feel I witnessed some one call one of my boys an idiot because of a mistake he made? Then how do I think my Father feels when He hears this verbal assault against one of His kids?

It's a simple thing and it even seems harmless since, "we all do it." However, I cannot allow enemies to plot against me in seemingly "friendly" territory. If give this kind of thought unrestricted access to my mind, what will happen next? How long before instead of a random foolish thought, I'm dealing with a constant barrage of self-abuse? Now instead of feeling stupid over an easily avoidable mistake, I live with a perpetual sense of low worth.

Here's what I'm trying to convey: We are at war. Our enemy is merciless and is on the lookout for any foothold that we'll allow him. What seems like a small thing in one moment can compound over time when granted unrestricted movement in our lives. It usually happens too fast for me to stop it from entering in the first place, but 2 Corinthians 10:5 makes me responsible to mount a violent assault against these intruders. I have to take this thought captive and refuse to allow it to build a network, plot an assault and wait for an opportunity to unleash hell in my life.

In closing, two important discoveries I'm making about taking captives:
1) There is a big difference between "thinking it" and "saying it." Taking a thought captive means not allowing it to gain a voice. Stop muttering under your breath. Stop giving a voice to the pointless sarcasm. Stop steering your life into danger by allowing enemy thoughts to become evil words. 

2) Lies are dispelled by Truth, not avoidance. My 1st grade teacher told me about bees: "Just ignore them and they'll leave you alone." Yeah, well I got stung twice in 1st grade! If you ignore these thoughts, they won't leave you alone - you just won't know you're about to be stung until it's too late. Once an enemy thought is captured, we force it into submission by the Truth. If I'm not an idiot, then what does the Truth say about me? According to Philippians 4:8, that's what should be filling my mind. 

Peace.
SJB