October 2002 was an anxious time for me and all living in the Washington, D. C. area. For three weeks, two men went on a seemingly random killing spree that left ten people dead and three injured.  Many Washingtonians feared to be outside long enough to refuel their cars. I prayed for safety during just about every walk to and from the Metro and breathed a sigh of relief when I entered the station or arrived at my destination. And, believe me – you don’t realize how many white, nondescript vans there are roaming around until police authorities tell you to watch for them to avoid being shot. Once the snipers were arrested, most of us left our state of heightened vigilance and returned to taking our physical safety for granted as we went about our lives.

The sniper attacks often come to mind as I reflect on my attitudes toward sin. Scripture repeatedly admonishes us to be vigilant against sin and evil. But usually I don’t give it the attention it deserves as I go about my day. I certainly don’t often heed Paul’s advice in Ephesians 6:11-12 to “put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

Now of course I intellectually believe in the realities of sin and evil and am painfully aware of my daily sin in thought, word, and deed and my need for repentance. But I wonder sometimes if my daily routine and prayer life would look different I f I really believed that we are constantly fighting a war against spiritual forces.  Particularly in the West, I think, we Christians have often underappreciated the role of the supernatural in our lives. In C.S. Lewis’ allegory about an “uncle” demon mentoring his nephew in the art of spiritual warfare, Uncle Screwtape writes:

My dear Wormwood, I wonder you should ask me whether it is essential to keep the patient in ignorance of your own existence…. Our policy, for the moment, is to conceal ourselves… The fact that “devils” are predominately comic figures in the modern imagination will help you. If any faint suspicion of your existence begins to arise in his mind, suggest to him a picture of something in red tights, and persuade him that since he cannot believe in that… he therefore cannot believe in you. (Screwtape Letters, New York: Macmillan, 1959, p. 32-33)

C.S. Lewis’ words from 50 years ago still ring true. I think the devil often works best by making us believe that he doesn’t really exist. If we don’t think he exists, then we won’t stand firm, put on the full armor of God, and fight against evil – both that in our own hearts and in the world in which we live. During the three weeks of the sniper attacks, I was awakened to the need for vigilance against a physical threat to my life. Pity that I don’t have the same heightened vigilance at all times against ever –present sin and the devices of the Enemy.