We know that this spiritual combat in which we are engaged has an end. And we already know who wins, no? God wins … and all those who belong to His team.
Therefore, we have to be in the team we know will win this tough war. We have to be in God’s team. But ¡watch out! Because Satan, who is the inventor of all lies, makes believe that he is going to win. Don’t let the Evil One fool you!
No one can escape the spiritual combat that Saint Paul wrote about: “Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.” (Eph: 6, 11-12)
It is true that the battle against the Devil and the rest of the evil spirits is spiritual. But it is still a “real” battle. As a matter of fact, a “real” battle is being fought between the forces of Evil (of Satan) and the forces of Good (of God). And we are all included in this combat, each one on its side. And Sacred Scripture tells us which one is the winning side.
We are in battle, then. So we cannot pretend not to have temptations. And we have to try to overcome them. But sometimes we might fall. So in this fight we cannot pretend to have a “0” fault and sin record, because even the saints have sinned. And the Bible tells us that the saint sins seven times.
Nevertheless, the key in our behavior about temptations is in Proverbs: “For a just man shall fall seven times and shall rise again, but the wicked shall fall down into evil” (Prov: 24, 16). The difference between someone who tries to be saint and the relentless sinner is not that the saint never sins, but that when he falls he raises himself. But the relentless sinner continues unrepented and committing more sins.
If the Bible tells us that we are not going to be free of temptations, and we also know this from experience, we have to actively fight against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. Prayer and the Sacraments are a must in this fight.
So, to be holy does not mean not to be tempted, but to win the fight over the temptations. And we have all the necessary help from God to be in the winning team, in order to win the spiritual battles and the Final Battle. Amen.
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