If you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas

Earlier this month the U.S. military suspended its joint operations with Afghan troops due to insider attacks that are killing our soldiers. Afghan security forces (trained by us) have turned their U.S.-made weapons on American or NATO soldiers 36 times this year.

When will the U.S. learn to stop fighting in other countries’ civil wars? Not only that, the Afghan conflict is a ‘holy’ war between radical and moderate Islamists. And joining one side to fight the other is nearly impossible because we can't tell them apart. This greatly facilitates the strategy of infiltration. 

I can’t help but see a spiritual parallel. For over 100 years, there has been ‘civil’ war within the Church of Christ between liberal and conservative theologians. The liberals reject a literal interpretation of the Bible and the exclusivity of Christ’s claims. Paul does not mince words when he calls such people enemies of the cross (Phil. 3:18). Now here’s the parallel to the U.S. military dilemma—they are what-Jesus-called “weeds among the wheat” (Matt. 13:25).  And because they are hard to identify, they easily infiltrate the church. How can you and I detect them? They are ones teaching people whatever their itching ears want to hear (2 Tim. 4:3).