My dear husband is a career medically retired U.S. Navy SEAL. In the SEAL Teams, there's a saying, Look closer. It means to pay closer attention to what may be important or dangerous that is hiding in plain sight among all the regular life details. His background and training in the special forces have given him a sharp understanding of how an enemy infiltrates and destroys. As I teach on the apostasy, he has continued to give me a better understanding from a special operator’s perspective, which only confirms biblical warnings that the false teachers would come in unawares and be among us (e.g., Jude 1:4, 2 Peter 2:1, 1 John 2:16-19, Galatians) My husband recognizes that covert attacks from the enemy come from within, positioned as one of the people. He described deception as similar to a concealed enemy sniper, positioned to hide in the very place no one would expect to look, yet still much closer than the people realize.
More often than not, Christians easily dismiss the dangers of apostasy, especially that of yoga, and sometimes, there are surprisingly extreme emotional reactions if someone even mentions Christians shouldn’t practice it. My husband’s experience in war and combat has led him to explain that this should in and of itself alert the people that yoga is a combination of psyops, cloak & dagger, and trench warfare. The extreme negative reactions from fellow professing Christians toward those, like me (and maybe you), who try to warn against it only serves as more evidence that we should look closer, as it must be something compelling that the prince of darkness is not easily willing to give up using against the church, and the world. Further, to the point, he has also explained why yoga, in particular, is ignored as ‘no big deal.’ It was strategically and tactically deployed to accomplish just that very thing. Yoga is often claimed as a grey area because it was designed to have the church express it in that very way. In other words, the reactions (anger or dismissal) are the telling signs that the problem is much bigger than one thinks. Though this is incredibly sad for the church, it brings clarity for me and serves as a constant reminder not to get discouraged and not grow weary in trying to reach the church regarding the clear and present dangers of yoga in all its forms.
