We watched Ann Coulter’s interview on O’Reilly last night. Characteristically caustic, she said we can't succeed at “nation-building” in Afghanistan where they have more goats than flush toilets, and where 70% of the population is illiterate. Then, this morning, I read an editorial by Richard Cohen of the Washington Post who said a tad more eloquently, “Afghanistan is an odd place to get bogged down. We can kill terrorists but not the culture that produces them.”
This discussion is particularly timely because the President will announce his plans for troop withdrawal today. Having lived for two years in Afghanistan, I know that Richard Cohen’s perspective is right on. And so is Ann Coulter’s. Fighting the Taliban without changing the culture in which they thrive is futile. This is a principle of biblical origin. All believers are in a war—a war with their adversary the Devil (1 Pet. 5:8) and his evil forces. Satan’s primary strategy is to disguise his activities so that it appears that someone or something else is to blame, getting our attention on the "symptoms" not the "source."
We all know that a decongestant will help relieve a stuffy nose, but it will not cure a cold. Likewise, you can fight the symptoms of your problems, but you will not 'cure' them until you destroy the source. One time, after Jesus had cast out a devil, He explained that in order to overturn the works of the Devil, you must first bind him. "How can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?" (Matt. 12:29). All Christians must be aware that they will not realize true victory over specific sins until they destroy the strongholds underlying them. And God has given us spiritual weapons to do this (2 Cor. 10:4), resulting in a cultural change: from one of defeat to one of victory.
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