Navigating Armies: From National Defence to Spiritual Warfare

Tanzania has the Tanzanian People's Defence Force (TPDF), Uganda has the UPDF (Uganda People's Defence Forces), and Kenya has got the Kenya Defence Force (KDF). The other members of the East African Community, Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, have all got their respective national armies. I wouldn't be wrong if I said all the nations on the planet in this day have official armies.

There are nations where we have witnessed the presence of private and even rebel armies alongside the national army. In Uganda for example there is the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), and the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). These rebel armies usually have their own reasons to justify the cause of rebellion. On numerous occasions, a national army and a rebel army will lock horns, causing properties to be ravaged and lives to be lost in the wake of the confrontation. At times the battle can get so intense that another country will decide to send resources to help either the national or rebel army, depending on the interests of the aide.

Picture a scenario where a global superpower like Russia singles out a developing country like Uganda and decrees that all the armies in that nation should have a uniform modus operandi to abide by. That the soldiers should undergo the same training, carry similar weapons and have the same commander in chief. This would mean two things; Either the superpower really cares about the welfare of the state and would like to see the armies get along, or said superpower has an ulterior sinister motive, like giving one army the edge over the other.

Back in primary school, when my knees were still sound, I used to play football (soccer) so good that I was even on the school team. There were occasions during training when the coach would bring over a girls team to practice with our junior boys' team. Since the boys were naturally faster than the girls, our coach would bind our hands behind our backs with banana fibre to slow us down and give the girls team a "fair advantage", but even with our limbs rendered immobile, we always finessed the game, so much so that our goal keeper would come away with a clean sheet.

The Christian church is the army of Jesus Christ on earth today, our weapons are not carnal.

When the governments of the world, like the ones in Uganda and Kenya, pass policies intended to regulate or check the activities of Religious Faith Organisations they're inadvertently (or advertently) binding the hands of the Church of Jesus Christ, and aiding the hordes of hell. Those who believe in the supremacy of Jesus Christ cannot, should not be governed by the same policies that regulate the Satanists or Traditionalists because while the Church of Jesus might be greatly affected, the other party will not feel the pinch, they will welcome and encourage such a policy since they don't have much to lose. 

In any given nation, there may come a time of division within the national army, there may emerge the defectors' faction and the loyalists', like how it happened in Libya. In my opinion, I think the defectors are even more dangerous than a rebel army because the defector knows the system like the back of his hand and can easily cause an insurrection. Has the Directorate for Ethics and Integrity considered that what they call manipulative leaders, could really be mere defectors who are intentionally positioning the church in a precarious state for selfish reasons? In warfare various tactics are employed. It's possible for a commando from the rebel army to disguise him/herself and infiltrate the national army, grow through the ranks, then use his position to sabotage the national army's missions.

Might I also add this; The defence forces of a nation have different faucets. There will be the air force, the navy force, the land forces, nowadays they also have the mental forces. So, while the air force will need a jet fighter, the navy might want a submarine. It's not proper for the air forces to fly a submarine or for the navy forces to use tanks, unless if conditions call for it. In the same way, in the army of Jesus one will find the Teachers, Pastors, Evangelists, Apostles and Prophets (Ephesians 4:11). The same shoe size will not fit all, because they all operate differently.

Lastly, we should remember that Faith is a part of our armor, it is the shield with which we extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Trying to regulate it is like telling us to expose ourselves to the darts and who knows what they will take away next if we compromise on this. Next they may come for the belt of truth, then the breastplate of righteousness, after that they'll take away the shoes of the readiness to preach the gospel of peace, then the helmet of salvation and finally disarm us by snatching away our sword. You know how the saying goes, "give the devil an inch, and he will take a mile".

Written by: Ivan Agaba Tumusiime.