Waging war

Whatever the heartless greed that seeks economic profit from war, or whatever political power lust motivates waging war, those who fight in the wars of their homelands are known to fight for more noble reasons. Those reasons could involve preserving freedom, protecting innocent non-combatants, freeing people from oppressive governments, or just doing their best to help their team survive – whatever team that might be.

World War I accounts of opposing entrenched armies calling an unofficial truce on Christmas, and enjoying a short time of celebration together, demonstrate that it is not necessary to hate your enemy, even on the battlefield. When the rations were shared and the Christmas carols were sung, they went back to their own trenches to resume hostilities.

My dad gives another example of how as humans we can care about our enemies. He didn’t talk much about his varied World War II military actions, but he briefly explained one successful assignment. Dad had been one of about five team members to survive out of about nineteen original sent on the task. But what he said about the enemy caused me to respect him even more than I already did. With tears in his eyes, he said, “I kept many a young officer from returning to his family.”

We don’t use human shields, but there is no shield to protect against human losses of war.

Yet we will always have wars, and according to Jesus’ words in Matthew 24, they will become more frequent as the world approaches its final history. So there will always be veterans – those willing to do what is necessary to protect their own countries, communities and families. Peace will only come when the Prince of Peace finally rules with justice and truth. Until then, and it may not be a long wait, we will appreciate those who have been willing to commit to honorably serve in the military.