“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars”, Jesus said (Mt. 24). No kidding! I cannot think of any time in my lifetime when America was not at war. Whether we label them as an actual war or a conflict or something else, we are a nation that gets involved in a lot of fighting. In fact, the longest period of time we were not at war was from 1935-1940; and there hasn’t been a single year since that we haven’t been involved in some kind of deadly circumstance. And while some of those wars – like fighting the Nazis – have been what most would consider righteous, the vast majority have been because of oil or some other commodity. The war against Iran began in 1953 when we deposed their democratically elected leader and placed a vicious dictator – the Shah – in charge of that fragile nation. Which led to the Islamic Revolution. Which has brought about endless suffering for the people of that nation. Which is where we are now.
A lot of Americans like to put God’s stamp of approval on war. They believe that we are the new Jerusalem – a light shining on a hill – a nation with manifest destiny – so, if we wage war on another nation, it must mean that God approves. This happened a lot in the Bible as well; God sent them, they wrote, to take over land or destroy a nation of blasphemers. I don’t buy any of it – God does not bless war. That doesn’t mean that some wars aren’t necessary (see the first paragraph) – sometimes evil cannot be stamped out with reason or thoughts and prayers. Necessary, however, doesn’t mean holy or righteous. Sometimes, armed conflict is a last resort. Sometimes, a foe won’t agree to lay down their arms for money or love or any other enticement.
So please – let’s stop blaming God for our power-hungry ways. Let’s stop telling ourselves and our children that God wants us to act in violent ways to get what we want or need. Let’s admit that violence is sometimes necessary to free people from tyranny, but that most of our wars are about money and power. Whenever we lose a soldier, regardless of the reason, I think that God weeps with us. We might have grown up with bloodthirsty images of God in Sunday School and church, but that doesn’t mean that they were right. God wants peace – God wants us to love one another – God does not bless war, no matter how necessary it is. Let’s tell the truth – war is hell, not heaven sent.
Prayer – God of peace, forgive our warring madness. Comfort us in our loss. Help us to find ways to peace. Amen.
Today’s art is a death of a soldier sculpture from Budapest, Hungary.