Some of the great sports rivalries of the past two generations: Duke vs North Carolina, Ravens vs Steelers, Cardinals vs Cubs, Orioles vs Yankees, Lakers vs Celtics.

Other, PC vs Mac, Apple vs Android, Coke vs Pepsi and Republican vs Democrat.

When kept in perspective, rivalries are fun and sometimes bring some spice to life. When perspective is clouded, we transform our rival into our enemy.

That’s sad, because if you can see them, usually they aren’t the enemy. There may be some extreme cases where the people you see can turn out to be an enemy.

How can I say that? Paul, history’s first church planter and a man well versed with engaging the enemy, said our enemy is not flesh and blood. He said the enemy is unseen, invisible and seeks to destroy us (Ephesians 6:12). So, who is our enemy? In the second message of our Battle Within series we will look at that question.

In the POGO comic strip, author Walt Kelly did a parody of a famous quote from the War of 1812. POGO looked at the condition of our world as said, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.” We are our own worst enemy. Why? How can that enemy be overcome? Romans 7-8 has some great wisdom for us. Let’s discover the truth in Romans 7-8 and overcome the enemy within.