For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. – Ephesians 6:12

Today's Scripture Reading (April 11, 2021): Ephesians 6

We may not see the world as it is. Unconscious bias fills our perceptions. We can't make sense of every little event that we experience, every moment of our day. As a result, our brains have developed shortcuts. Past experiences form a template for future interactions. When events take place, our brains immediately make use of these templates.  We don't necessarily see what is or take an objective look at what we are experiencing. Instead, we allow past interactions to fill in the blanks, an unconscious bias, and we react to a combination of the events and our bias. 

The world is not as it seems. But we kind of understand that. If it were, then life would be so simple. Instead, life is complicated and exists on so many levels. We often think we know what is going on, only to find out something else is at work. As much as our actions shape us, so do our intentions, and if it were just that, even then, life would be easier than it is.

We live in a physical world, but it is also a spiritual one. And both have a distinctive effect on what it is that happens in our world. Paul doesn't invite us to consider that maybe the spiritual realm has more to do with what we see happening around us than we think; he announces it as a fact. It is not "Maybe we should consider that our struggle is not against flesh and blood," the apostle declares that "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood." The world is not just as we perceive it; there is so much more going on.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world saw an uptick in violence against people of Asian descent. The apparent correlation was that we believed that the virus, which shaped our world, originated from China. And especially because it seemed to originate in China's "wet markets," a concept that those from the sterile societies in the West seem to be a disaster waiting to happen, this is the obvious connection to Asian violence. But we also have to recognize that there is a spiritual connection. It is an accusation from the dark powers that we are not all "the children of God," regardless of race. The violence is bound in a satanic belief that not all of us are worthy of being loved and that some of us are less valuable. If it were not for the battle taking place in the spiritual world, prejudice in the physical world would not easily take hold of us.

Paul commands that when we consider this world's problems, we have to recognize what is happening in our physical realm, but we also have to be aware of the battle that is taking place in the spiritual realm. Fixing only one aspect of our struggle is not good enough. We have to be mindful of the whole battle that is happening in the world that we see.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Philippians 1

Personal Note: Happy Birthday to my sister, Cheri. I hope you have a great day.