The Enemy

During the Vietnam War, Doug Hegdahl was captured by the Vietnamese. Doug soon realized that his best chance for survival was to play dumb with his captors. Soon, they began to refer to him as the, “Incredibly Stupid One.” Their view of Doug moved them to gladly release him as a gesture of goodwill. However, during his time in their prisoner of war camp, he memorized the names, personal information and capture dates of 256 of his fellow prisoners, which came as a huge benefit to his country and their families.

Doug’s story reminds me of ours. We have an enemy that wants to capture and enslave us. Jesus described him as the one who comes to steal, kill and destroy. Every New Testament writer mentions the devil without hesitation. Jesus, himself, described our enemy by name, not generically, at least twenty-five different times. It seems these men didn’t want us to be ignorant of an enemy that desires to destroy—and that information is a huge benefit to us.