Guest Columnist ID Senator Glenneda Zuiderveld: What If We’re Fighting the Wrong Battle?

With the verdict in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial, this passage immediately came to mind:

2 Timothy 3:6–7 (NKJV)

“For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

The Greek word translated “gullible women” is gynaikaria (γυναικάρια). It carries the sense of women who are weak, foolish, or easily influenced. Paul is not saying women in general are gullible. He is describing those who have become vulnerable to deception and are being led away from truth.

But we need to read this in context.

Paul begins the chapter:

“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come.”
—2 Timothy 3:1 NKJV

He describes people as lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, disobedient, unthankful, unholy, and “having a form of godliness but denying its power” (vv. 2–5).

Then comes the warning about those who exploit the spiritually vulnerable and lead them away from truth.

I am not going to get into everything being argued and shared on social media about the Clancy case. Yes, I have questions. I have wondered how a labor and delivery nurse could find herself in such a desperate condition without recognizing the danger. I have wondered why someone did not see what was happening before three innocent children lost their lives.

But that is not where I want to focus.

I want to focus on the times in which we are living.

Jesus repeatedly spoke of having eyes to see and ears to hear. Those willing to look honestly at what is happening around us can see that something is deeply wrong.

We are surrounded by information, experts, diagnoses, opinions, podcasts, news, and social media. We have endless opportunities to learn, yet Paul warns of people who are:

“always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

Think about that.

Always learning. Never arriving at truth.

Perhaps one of the greatest dangers of our time is not a lack of information. It is having so much information and so many competing voices that we lose our ability to recognize truth.

And there is one truth I believe we desperately need to acknowledge:

We are in a spiritual battle.

Ephesians 6:12 (NASB)

“For our struggle 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.”

Yet our culture tries to explain almost everything in purely human terms. We talk about mental illness, hormones, trauma, stress, medication, environment, and countless other factors.

Those things can be very real. But what if, in explaining everything through the physical and psychological, we have forgotten the spiritual?

Scripture tells us evil is real. Satan is real. Demonic forces are real. Spiritual deception is real.

Yet we keep trying to fight a spiritual battle almost exclusively with the weapons and wisdom of man.

There is a proper place for medical care, medication, counseling, and other forms of help. But they cannot replace spiritual discernment or the truth of God’s Word.

If our struggle is “not against flesh and blood,” we need to stop acting as though flesh and blood are the only things involved.

So How Do We Fight?

This has become very personal to me as a state senator.

I sit in a place where people continually come looking for answers. When something goes wrong, one of our first responses has become:

“What is the government going to do about it?”

Another law. Another program. Another appropriation. Another agency. Another government solution.

Government has a legitimate role. Romans 13 makes that clear. We have a responsibility to protect the innocent, punish wrongdoing, uphold justice, and maintain order.

But there is something government simply cannot do.

Government cannot heal the human heart.

We can pass laws against murder, but we cannot legislate hatred out of someone’s heart.

We can spend millions addressing addiction, broken families, mental illness, homelessness, and violence, while never addressing what is breaking the culture in the first place.

Have we become so accustomed to running to government for answers that we have forgotten to run to God?

God has already given us His prescription for a land that needs healing:

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NASB)

“and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

Notice where God begins.

Not with government.

Not with politicians.

Not with another program.

“My people.”

Humble yourselves. Pray. Seek My face. Turn from your wicked ways.

Maybe we have been asking government to do something only God can do.

That doesn’t mean Christians withdraw from government, medicine, education, counseling, law enforcement, or our communities. We should be engaged in all of them. But we must understand their limitations.

Government has a role. Medicine has a role. Counseling has a role. But none of them can take the place of God.

And if Scripture tells us the battle is spiritual, Scripture also tells us how to fight it:

“Therefore, take up the full armor of God…”
—Ephesians 6:13 NASB

Truth. Righteousness. The gospel of peace. Faith. Salvation. The Word of God. Prayer.

And notice what comes first:

TRUTH.

That brings us right back to where we started:

“Always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

Maybe we don’t need more information as much as we need discernment to recognize the battle and courage to fight it the way God told us to.

Because if we misidentify the enemy, we will inevitably choose the wrong weapons.

What Is Our Responsibility?

We cannot read these Scriptures, look at the world around us, shake our heads, and then go back to life as usual.

Truth demands a response.

As believers, we have a responsibility to know God’s Word, pray, discern truth from deception, put on the full armor of God, and stand.

As parents and grandparents, we need to pay attention. Know what is happening in your home. Know who is influencing your children. Notice changes. Ask difficult questions. Listen to the answers.

We need spiritual situational awareness.

Don’t dismiss warning signs because dealing with them might be uncomfortable.

Don’t assume somebody else will handle it.

Don’t wait until tragedy forces everyone to ask, “How did we not see this coming?”

Then we need courage.

James 4:17 (NASB)

“So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, for him it is sin.”

Sometimes knowing isn’t enough.

Sometimes you have to do something.

Speak up. Ask the question. Make the phone call. Protect the child. Help the struggling mother. Confront the lie. Pray with the hurting. Get involved. And when someone is in immediate danger, get them to safety and get appropriate help.

As civil servants, we must remember that we are not called to be saviors. We are called to be servants.

Protect innocent life. Administer justice. Restrain evil. Defend liberty. Steward authority with humility. And have the courage to acknowledge that some things no legislation, appropriation, or government program can heal.

Finally, we need steadfastness.

1 Corinthians 15:58 (NASB)

“Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

Doing the right thing once can be easy.

Doing it repeatedly when nobody applauds, when you are criticized, when you are tired, and when standing becomes costly requires steadfastness.

That is where I believe we need to be:

Situational awareness to recognize what is happening.

Courage to do something about it.

Steadfastness to stay in the fight.

Not fear.

Not apathy.

Not waiting for government to save us.

We have been given the truth. We have been told who the enemy is. We have been given the armor. We have been told how to stand.

Now we have a responsibility to do it.

Open your eyes. Pay attention. Pray. Know the Word. Protect those God has entrusted to you. Speak when truth needs to be spoken. Act when action is required.

And when the battle becomes difficult, remain steadfast.

Because perhaps the question for our generation is no longer whether we can see what is happening.

The question is: Now that we see it, what are we going to do about it?