In Augustine’s classic The City of God he takes up the topic of allegiances and affections. In the wake of the sacking of Rome in 430 A.D.--the capital of western European civilization and order--he was in part responding to the accusation that its fall was due to the Roman’s abandonment of the worship of the gods. In his answer he suggests that there are really two “cities” locked in battle, the city of God and the city of man both of which elicit our affections and which vie for our allegiances. This battle is not only played out in the arena of empires, but also within the human heart.
It was Alexander Solzhenitsyn who said, “If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing between good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”
There is a profound sense in which followers of Christ are involved in a real spiritual battle that goes on from without and from within; and this conflict plays not an insignificant role in our spiritual formation. What we call the process of spiritual formation--making us into the kind of person both He and we want to be--involves responding properly to this sort of conflict as we participate in the ministry of reconciliation. In fact, in many ways the this battle from without and within is intensified when we participate.
And those with whom we dialogue about the great things of the gospel and with whom we have relationships and acquaintanceships are themselves involved in various ways in their own battle with these forces--although configured in a different way.
The point is that it should not come as a surprise that some of the most important things in life to understand and dialogue about, our affections and allegiances, involve us in this struggle in obvious and sometimes subtle ways. And a word to the wise would be to prepare for the reality of this and not be taken by surprise, like some people were taken by surprise when Rome fell.