Near Enemies: What the Church Sold You That Looked Like the Real Thing

You noticed it before you had words for it.

"Judge not, lest ye be judged"—but they judged everyone. "Love your neighbor"—but not those neighbors. "The truth will set you free"—but don't ask questions.

The church preached one thing and practiced another. You saw the gap. Maybe you even left because of it.

But here's what's harder to spot: the hypocrisy wasn't just what they didn't do. It was what they did do—and called it virtue.

They didn't give you the opposite of what you needed. They gave you a counterfeit that looked close enough to fool you.

Begging that sounded like humility. Control that looked like protection. Performance that felt like power.

The corruption sat so close to the real thing, you couldn't tell you'd been handed a trap until it closed.

There's a concept in contemplative practice called "near enemies." Dr. Christopher Wallis writes about it in Near Enemies of the Truth—qualities that sit close to virtues but subtly corrupt them.

Compassion's near enemy is pity. Equanimity's near enemy is indifference. They look similar. One liberates. One traps.

The church weaponized near enemies. They sold you begging and called it prayer. They sold you control and called it spiritual authority. They sold you performance and called it faith.

Near enemies are dangerous because they feel virtuous. You can't spot the trap when the trap is labeled "obedience."

Here's how it works:

Far enemy: The obvious opposite. Easy to recognize. Easy to reject.

Near enemy: The subtle corruption. Looks like the virtue. Feels righteous. Keeps you trapped.

Example:

Real thing: Faith (trust in the Power promised to you)
Far enemy: Unbelief (obvious rejection of spiritual reality)
Near enemy: Certainty (rigid "knowing" that can't question or adapt)

The church didn't teach you to reject faith. They taught you the near enemy—certainty that felt strong but made you brittle.

What the church taught you:

The church taught you to beg. "Please, God, if it's your will..." Humble-sounding prayers that kept you powerless. You thought you were being submissive to God. You were being submissive to gatekeepers.

What you do as a Christian Witch:

You claim. You locate the promise in scripture. You underline it in the color of your intent—red for protection, black for provision, blue for clarity. You draw a line into the margin. You write the name of the person or situation that needs this power. You speak it once aloud. You date it.

You don't ask if you're allowed. You claim what was already offered.

How to spot the difference:

Begging says "maybe." Claiming says "this."
Begging is vague. Claiming names names.
Begging waits for signs. Claiming marks the date.

What it cost you:

Years of "waiting on God" when the promise was already written. Years of feeling like you weren't faithful enough when the method you were taught was designed to keep you dependent.

What the church taught you:

They told you the Power flows through "approved" channels. Pastors. Priests. People with titles. You could access God—but only through their permission structure. It sounded like protection. It was control.

What you do as a Christian Witch:

You work the Bible like a tool, not a leash. You mark the verses. You speak the claims. You don't need a priest to bless your candles or approve your prayers. The promises were written to you—not to approved people on your behalf.

No intermediaries. No permission required. Just you, the Book, and the work.

How to spot the difference:

Permission asks "Am I allowed?"
Power asks "What's promised?"
Permission seeks covering. Power marks the verse.

What it cost you:

You stayed small. You stayed dependent. You stayed in structures that controlled you because you believed you needed their permission to access what was already yours.

What the church taught you:

Spiritual warfare became theater. Loud prayers. Shouting at demons. Declarations over the altar. It felt powerful. It looked like you were doing something. But performance is a substitute for work.

What you do as a Christian Witch:

You do quiet, repeatable work that holds. You claim protection verses in red ink. You mark your threshold with oil. You speak the claim once and let it stand. No audience required. No volume required.

The work holds whether you're watching it or not.

How to spot the difference:

Performance needs an audience. Work stands alone.
Performance is loud. Work is quiet.
Performance exhausts you. Work holds without you watching it.

What it cost you:

Burnout. Drama. Protection that collapsed the moment you stopped "declaring." You thought you were fighting. You were just performing fight.

What the church taught you:

They told you maturity means making peace with the church. Forgiving the system. "Healing" by staying connected. It sounded like growth. It was re-entrapment.

What you do as a Christian Witch:

You reclaim without reconciling. You take back the Bible, the prayers, the verses, the Power—and you walk away. You don't need to make peace with the structure that harmed you. You need to take what's yours and use it without their permission.

Reclamation doesn't require relationship. It requires you to mark the verse and move on.

How to spot the difference:

Reconciliation asks you to make peace with your abuser.
Reclamation takes the tools and leaves.
Reconciliation says "they meant well." Reclamation says "they were wrong, and I'm taking this back."

What it cost you:

Years trying to "heal the relationship" when the relationship was the problem. Years calling yourself bitter when you were actually seeing clearly.

What the church taught you:

The church trained you to live jumpy. Every bad day is an attack. Every doubt is the devil. Every question is a slippery slope. They called it discernment. It was fear conditioning.

What you do as a Christian Witch:

You build discernment by testing what holds. You claim protection verses and track whether they work. You learn the difference between trouble (random), consequence (caused), and targeted opposition (spiritual). You don't assume every problem is warfare. You test it against scripture and lived reality.

Discernment is a skill. Paranoia is a script the church installed to keep you obedient.

How to spot the difference:

Discernment sees clearly. Paranoia sees threats everywhere.
Discernment asks "Is this wisdom or fear?" Paranoia assumes attack.
Discernment names real opposition. Paranoia calls every trouble "spiritual warfare."

What it cost you:

Exhaustion. Reactivity. A nervous system trained to scan for threats that weren't there. You thought you were being vigilant. You were being controlled through fear.

What the church taught you:

Faith became rigid certainty. "I know God told me." "The Bible clearly says." No questions. No adaptation. Certainty that felt strong but made you brittle. It broke when pressure hit.

What you do as a Christian Witch:

You build faith through proof. You claim a verse. You mark it with the date. You check what shifted after 7 days, after 14 days. Faith is trust in the Power, tested over time—not certainty that demands to be right upfront.

You can question. You can test. You can adjust. Faith that holds doesn't need to be rigid.

How to spot the difference:

Certainty can't question. Faith can test and adjust.
Certainty breaks when wrong. Faith adapts.
Certainty needs to be right. Faith needs to work.

What it cost you:

Years defending positions you weren't sure of. Years afraid to question because questions felt like betrayal. Certainty that collapsed when life didn't match the script.

What the church taught you:

The church taught you pity disguised as compassion. "Those poor people." "Pray for them." Condescension dressed as care. You stayed above. They stayed broken. You felt holy. They stayed powerless.

What you do as a Christian Witch:

You practice compassion that doesn't put you above the person you're helping. You know you're both using broken tools. You work with them, not over them. You share the method—how to mark the verse, claim the promise, build the proof. You don't pray for them like they're beneath you. You teach them to claim for themselves.

How to spot the difference:

Pity says "I'm okay, you're not."
Compassion says "We're both figuring it out."
Pity keeps power. Compassion shares the method.

When something feels virtuous but leaves you powerless, trapped, or dependent—check for the near enemy.

Ask:

The real thing versus the near enemy:

The near enemy always feels righteous. That's the trap.

You can't spot the counterfeit by how it feels. You spot it by what it costs you.

If it keeps you small, dependent, performing, or afraid—it's the near enemy. Even if they called it virtue.

You've been taught the near enemy. Here's how you claim the real thing instead.

Pick the counterfeit that cost you the most. Then claim the verse that replaces it with what actually works.

The verse: Philippians 4:19
"And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus."

Open your Bible to Philippians 4:19. Underline it in black ink—black is for provision, for the resources and foundations that keep your life stable.

Draw a line from the verse into the margin.

At the end of that line, write what you need provision for by name. Be specific. "Claimed for rent, $1,200 by March 1." "Claimed for new job income." "Claimed for car repair cost."

Speak it once aloud, replacing "your" with your specific need: "God will meet my need for [rent] according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus."

Write today's date next to your petition.

Close the book. Let the claim stand.

That's claiming, not begging. The promise is already written. You're binding it to your need and sealing it with the date.

The verse: 1 John 5:14-15
"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, we hear us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him."

Open your Bible to 1 John 5:14-15. Underline it in blue ink—blue is for wisdom, clarity, and the confidence to know what's already yours.

Draw a line into the margin.

Write: "Claimed for direct access. No permission required."

Speak it aloud: "I have confidence in approaching God. I ask according to what's promised. I know I'm heard. I have what I've asked."

Date it.

This is your authority. You don't need a priest to tell you it's okay. You don't need a pastor's approval. The promise was written to you.

The verse: Isaiah 54:17
"No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me, declares the Lord."

Open your Bible to Isaiah 54:17. Underline it in red ink—red is for protection, for warfare, for boundaries that hold when pressure hits.

Draw a line into the margin.

Write who or what you're protecting by name. "Claimed for [your name]." "Claimed for my home at [address]." "Claimed for [child's name]."

Speak it once: "No weapon forged against [name/home] will prevail. Every tongue that rises in judgment will be refuted. This is my heritage."

Date it.

Close the book. Let the work stand.

No shouting required. No performance. The claim holds whether you're watching it or not.

The verse: Exodus 33:1
"Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised.'"

Open your Bible to Exodus 33:1. Underline it in blue ink—blue is for clarity, for the path forward when you need to see the next step.

Draw a line into the margin.

Write: "Claimed for leaving [name the system, church, relationship]. Permission to go."

Speak it: "The Lord says: Leave this place. Go to what was promised."

Date it.

You don't need to reconcile with what harmed you. You don't need to make peace with the structure that trapped you. You need permission to leave.

You have it.

The verse: James 1:5
"If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you."

Open your Bible to James 1:5. Underline it in blue ink—blue is for wisdom, for discernment that sees clearly instead of reacting in fear.

Draw a line into the margin.

Write what you need wisdom to discern. "Claimed for wisdom about [job decision]." "Claimed for discernment about [relationship]." "Claimed for clarity on [next step]."

Speak it: "I ask for wisdom about [specific situation]. God gives generously without finding fault. It will be given to me."

Date it.

This is discernment. Not paranoia. Not fear. Wisdom you can test against what actually happens.

Check it in 7 days. Did the clarity come? Did the fog lift? Write down what shifted.

That's how you know it's working.

The verse: Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."

Open your Bible to Proverbs 3:5-6. Underline it in blue ink—blue is for trust, for the faith that doesn't need to control the outcome to know it will hold.

Draw a line into the margin.

Write what you need direction for. "Claimed for [the next step in X situation]." "Claimed for guidance on [decision]."

Speak it: "I trust in the Lord for [situation]. I don't lean on certainty. He will make my path straight."

Date it.

Faith doesn't need certainty upfront. Faith needs trust that builds proof over time. You claim the promise. You watch what shifts. You adapt when the path becomes clear.

That's faith. Not rigidity. Not demanding to be right. Trust that works.

The verse: Galatians 6:2
"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."

Open your Bible to Galatians 6:2. Underline it in black ink—black is for provision, for the work that carries weight together instead of positioning yourself above.

Draw a line into the margin.

Write who you're working with (not for). "Claimed for carrying [Name]'s burden with them."

Speak it: "I carry [Name]'s burden with them, not over them. This fulfills the law of Christ."

Date it.

Compassion works with. Pity works over. You're claiming the first.

You don't pray for them like they're beneath you. You show them the method—how to mark the verse, claim the promise, build the proof. You teach them to work for themselves.

Pick one. Mark it tonight. Speak it once. Date it.

Check it in 7 days. Check it again in 14 days. Write down what shifted.

That's how you know the real thing from the near enemy. The real thing holds.

The church taught you near enemies because far enemies are too easy to spot. You can't control someone by offering them cruelty. You control them by offering them a counterfeit that feels virtuous.

Begging that sounds humble. Permission that sounds protective. Performance that feels powerful. Certainty that feels faithful.

You weren't foolish for falling for it. You were trained by experts.

Now you know what to look for. And you know what to claim instead.

The far enemy is obvious. The near enemy sits close. But once you see the counterfeit, you can't unsee it.

— Ambrose Augur
Haint Blue Holy