Fight the Right Fight

​I agreed to meet with a frustrated couple who were seeking counsel. They were fighting with each over how to raise their teenage son. They were also fighting with their son on a daily basis. After hearing them out, I looked at them and said “Dad and Mom, you are fighting the wrong fight.
 
Do not fight with each other. Don’t fight with your son. Fight for him. Stand in faith. Fight for your boy in the name of Jesus Christ. Fight against the devil together for the victory that belongs to your son.”
 
I could tell my words “You are fighting the wrong fight” struck home in their hearts. We spent the rest of our appointment laying out the right fight.
 
Maybe it is just me, but it seems to be like a whole load of people want to pick a fight with somebody. Political fights. Business fights. Church fights. Family fights. Fighting….fussing….feuding. Fights for the sake of fighting. If you want to fight, there is someone out there to oblige you!
 
America is turning into a nation of fighters that fight the wrong fights.   
           
What concerns me as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is that many professing  Christians are fighting the wrong fight.
 
The Apostle Paul had an appointment with the executioner. Before he went to be with Jesus, Paul declared three things. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.” II Timothy 4:7
 
Paul’s last words contained three monumental phrases. 1. I have fought the good fight. 2 I have finished the course. 3. I have kept the faith. Note the words “fought”, “finished” and “kept”. Paul was going to die for Christ. He would die peacefully, joyfully and victoriously knowing that he had fought the right fight in life.
 
Paul mentions a good fight. I have learned in life that there are good fights and not so good fights. Good fights are better than bad fights. Paul defines the good fight in I Timothy 6:12.
 
“Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
 
The faith fight is the good fight, the right fight.
 
Notice Paul’s personal reward for keeping the faith, fighting the good fight and finishing the course in II Timothy 4:9.
 
“In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
 
Fighting the right fight, the good fight of faith, would be rewarded with a crown of righteousness presented by the Lord Jesus Christ!
 
How about you and me? Are we fighting the good fight of faith and will we receive the crown of righteousness from the Lord? That is the desire of my heart.
           
So what does Paul’s fight have to do with you and me? Everything! If we want to receive the crown of righteousness from Jesus, we must fight the right fight. It awaits all believers in Christ who fight the good fight of faith.    
 
Let me shoot straight with you. Satan has a field day when Christians engage in the wrong fights. Our fight is not with our family. Our fight is not with brothers and sisters in Christ. Our fight is not with our Pastor or the church family. Our fight is not with our boss. Our fight is not with the government.
 
Our fight is with the evil one. Faith in Jesus Christ is the victory that overcomes the devil and the unbelieving world (I John 4:4, 5:4). 
 
It is true in life: Fight the wrong fight, get the wrong results. Fight the right fight, get the right results. It’s as simple as that. It really is.  
 
You Might Be Fighting The Wrong Fight If……
 

• You are trying to win your battles in your own strength.
• You are in continual conflict with people.
• You trust in yourself and people more than the Lord.
• You begin to doubt your faith and trust in God.
• You never seem to conquer the challenging circumstances that confront you.

 
You Are Fighting The Right Fight If……
           

• You are drawing strength from the Lord and battling in His name.
• Conflict with people is minimal because you treat others in a Christlike manner.
• Your faith is growing, not diminishing.
• The peace of God guards your mind and heart, guiding your behavior.
• You experience the victory that God promises and provides.

 
When you and I fight the right fight, the good fight of faith, we are fighting for our God, our family, our loved ones, our neighbors, our communities, our nation and our world.
 
So stop wasting your time, energy and resources fighting the wrong fight. Devote and discipline yourself to fight the right fight…the good fight of faith. With all your might fight the right fight.
 
The right fight will reap the right reward. What fight are you going to fight today? 
 
“For our struggle (fight) is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”                                                           Ephesians 6:12
 
A Word For Your Week: Fight for your faith because it’s the right fight.