War of Attrition

"You see, it is so hard for these creatures to persevere. The routine of adversity, the gradual decay of youthful loves and youthful hopes, the quiet despair (hardly felt as pain) of ever overcoming the chronic temptations with which we have again and again defeated them, the drabness which we create in their lives, and the inarticulate resentment with which we teach them to respond to it--all this provides admiral opportunities of wearing out a soul by attrition." – Lewis, Screwtape Letters

 

I used to have this game called "Rise of Nations"--it was a Real Time Strategy PC game--which has always been my favorite kind. You would begin at a very early age in the human timeline with a civilization, with guys with clubs and slings and such. The unique part of this game was you could then advance through the ages of mankind, all the way to our modern day with nuclear IBCMs and stealth aircraft. It was a lot of fun to play; though I think one of my frustrations in the advanced ages was that certain units like tanks, aircrafts, rocket launchers were disproportionately underpowered. For instance a couple of enemy infantry units could just stand there taking tank shells to the face while only losing a quarter of their health--and that's just not right! But overall, again, it was a fairly detailed game with all kinds of various ages of humanity to fight your battles in.

 

One thing I remember from "Rise of Nations" is when you were in enemy territory your soldiers would experience "attrition"--where once you passed the border, your guys' health would very slowly begin to decrease. At first I found this frustrating: "it is hard enough to invade as it is, and now my guys are all losing health for no other reason that they are in enemy territory?" But not to worry, I recall you could build a supply wagon that would have a radius about it--and if your troops were within that radius of the supply wagon they would be unaffected by the attrition.

 

But this is war. And the one who wins the battle of attrition is often the one who wins the war. It is not who wins the first battle. It is not the one who looks to be ahead after the first year or two years of fighting. It is the wearing down over time--the slow constriction of resources, the ever growing losses of your precious young men. It is as much a physical struggle as it is a mental, psychological one. Agonizing pressure over time has a curious tendency to get people to give up and stop fighting.

 

I like the above quote from Lewis in Screwtape Letters. It is so hard for these creatures (meaning us humans...) to persevere! How true is this. We are stuck in this thing called time, overwhelmed by the circumstances and pressures of the moment. We lack a Spiritual, bird’s eye view of where we are in the present, and most importantly, we lack the perspective of where we are headed and what we are becoming. We feel the frequent ups and downs of emotions like the repetitious waves on a seashore. They come and come at this monotonously unrelenting pace. Time passes. Years and years and years go by--and the weaknesses over time, the decay of the body and mind over time, the failures over time, the drabness of life over time--is often enough to ruin many a Christian by attrition.

 

The interesting thing about attrition is it is fairly subtle, and like the proverbial frog in the boiling pot, it can be often undetectable when you are in time experiencing the pulsing tedium. It is not this drastic attack or overwhelming loss in one distinct moment-- such a thing may wake us up! No, attrition is a slow fade. As Screwtape says at another point: "the safest road to Hell is the gradual one--the gently slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts."

 

The safest road to hell is achieved through the succumbing to attrition.

 

That is the Western church right there. That is the demise of many who began the Christian walk with all the energy and effort characteristic of youth. But once the waves hit. And hit. And hit again. Once the thorns begin to choke out the vibrant growth--the plant starts to die.

 

How to win the Attrition Game

 

1) We must be mindful of this weakness endemic of our human condition. We cannot prepare for the unceasing bombardments of life if we are not aware of our "in time" weaknesses.

 

2) We must ensure that we do not stand alone. Isolation is a dangerous tool in the hands of the enemy. If he can section us off from any truth, any brotherly examples, any Godly fellowship--is there a question what the result will be over the course of years?

 

3) We must create rhythms and habits that enable us to stand. As forgetful beings, so easily influenced by the moment we need to remind ourselves the truth. We can do this by daily reading of the Truth (Scripture), the singing of songs, the little conversations with friends and family, the introduction of intentional silence. Such rhythms have a way of snapping us out of the temptations and noise of the moment--and reminding us of the bigger picture.

 

4) We must be rooted in the Source. Jesus says in John 15, apart from me you can do nothing. Apart from connection to the source there will be no growth and there will correspondingly be no fruit. We must therefore be and remain in Christ--connected to Him; moment by moment receiving the power that comes from that union.