I dragged myself through the nettles, propped my frame against a tree trunk, took aim and fired. Then in a calculated but ignorant fashion, I shot my own team mate right up his gluteus maximus. I am a counter-productive paint-baller. It is better for everyone if I don't paint-ball. Everyone else wins if I remain at home instead of paint-balling.

I forgot who my enemy was. 

At the end of the letter that St Paul wrote to the church in a place called Ephesus, he encourages them to put on 'the armour of God' and he reminds them why they need to do this. 

"Put on the full armour 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, powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armour of God so that you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." (Ephesians 6: 11-13)

Christians often forget who their enemy is. 

I have witnessed many Christians at university taking shots at one another because they disagree on some obscure theology. It's not unusual for our differences to lead to friendly fire. The point is, people are not our enemy. Our battle is not against flesh and blood. There is a real enemy and he is really pleased when we lose sight of him and shoot each other up the theological derrière. 

Jesus talked about this when he said that the two most important commandments were to love God and to love our neighbour. This means we are to love all people, not just people we agree with or share identical theology with. C.S Lewis puts this so well in his much loved book The Screwtape Letters, which is a must read for all students. 

So let's be honouring and respectful of all people, even when we think they are wrong. They are not the enemy. Let's remember that there is an enemy and we need protecting against him. But the great news is that Jesus is wholly capable of being our protector. Game on.