The Rules of Engagement

Weapons of Mass Destruction

to the enemy. According to Proverbs 25:28, “He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.” (See also Genesis 49:6–7.) A nxiety Anxiety is the apprehensive, uneasy, and distressed state of mind concerning real or imagined future possibilities, probabilities, or eventualities. This condition causes a kind of mental prison that, when not counteracted by faith in God, will invite fear, hopelessness, depression, worry, and dread to become fellow inmates who will place your present and future on lockdown . To render this weapon ineffective, the apostle Paul encourages us to use our anxieties as prayer points and prophetic praise reports (Phil. 4:6). A pathy When the spirit of apathy is present, it causes a person to become indifferent and desensitized to circumstances or conditions, ultimately producing a literal numbing of the soul and an emotional calcification of the heart. Having spent many years in bondage, the children of Israel were attacked with this weapon. The psalmist recorded their blues in Psalm 137:1–4: “By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’ How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?” (niv). A pproval -S eeking A ctivities People who engage in approval-seeking activities are people who will do anything to get affirmation and acceptance from others. Approval-seeking individuals lack personal power, self-worth, dignity, and a sense of signifi cance. Approval-seeking activities are driven by fear. The instigating spirit will cause you to fear negative responses and feedback and to become so approval dependent that you barter away all your time, energy, and personal preferences just for affirmation and approval. Sometimes these activities will come across as noble and altruistic. If you carefully examine the motiva tions behind most activities, you will notice they are usually instigated by the need to be seen, affirmed, or accepted. Activities can range from saying

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