When our country went to war with Iraq, Christians everywhere became spiritually and emotionally perplexed. Should we as Christians support this war, especially when many innocent lives will be taken? What about thou shalt not kill? Our Christian counselors were bombarded by such dilemmas. People wanted to support our troops but feared that doing so would be supporting the war and going against God. Well, let's take a closer look at this, shall we?

It's important to remember that in the beginning it was God Himself who sent nation to war against nation. Whether it was to reclaim certain ‘promised' lands or to rid the world of certain ungodly societies, etc. War is never pretty but sometimes it is necessary. Once, God even declared war against His own people, Israel. It was Moses who intervened for the sake of those few who still had a heart for God. Notice also that it was Moses who put the rest of those people to death on the spot that night – some 3,000 men. It was a necessary action. You see, if those 3,000 had remained, they would have eventually corrupted the entire tribe or nation. No one would have seen the promised land.

So where does ‘thou shalt not kill' come into play? With Jesus Christ. Jesus's mission was to condition us individually and prepare our souls for salvation. He came to teach us how to behave one to another. Love your neighbor as yourself. Treat others as you would have them treat you. That's because we're not going to stand before God as a nation. We're going to stand individually. And who we are individually has nothing to do with what we must do from time to time as a nation. For one thing, as ONE NATION UNDER GOD, we have been blessed with His gift of freedom and we have every right to protect that against those both foreign and domestic. And for another, even in war, we as one nation under God, still retain our Christian values. While American POW's are beaten and executed, our POW's are given immediate food and medical assistance if required. This is pleasing in the sight of God.

As for our soldiers and all innocent victims caught in the crossfire, it's sad, it's hard, but it's a fact that even God understands. We cannot be held accountable for the blood of the innocent because we are not the ones who started this war, anyway. We don't want to go to war and don't enjoy killing innocent people. As a matter of fact, in this war we took great measures to target and destroy as opposed to blindly destroying everything in sight. Another pleasing Christian value in the sight of God. Now, we're not always going to agree with the reasons we go to war, but the bottom line is this: Whether you agree with any war or not, our men are out there fighting for our freedom and for their lives as well as for ours. They need our support. And even if some of them may not agree with why they're being sent out, they understand one thing – they swore an oath to defend this country and once out there, that is exactly what they have to do.

Likewise, it is also our duty to support them, to let them know we are praying for their safe return and that we appreciate their willingness to give up their own lives for ours – even if we didn't ask them to. (We didn't have to.) War is never pretty but sometimes necessary. We have a right to defend our nation, a nation given to us by God. And even in war, we can be proud of who we are and how we conduct ourselves. Our Christian values show through every step of the way. In this, too, God is well pleased.

Tee Michaels
January, 2007