Most of us have been glued to the TV and radio as the war we all
anticipated finally began last week. For some of us, it is a
conflict that needed to happen; for others, it is something we
strongly feel our country should not be involved in.
Most of us have been glued to the TV and radio as the war we all anticipated finally began last week. For some of us, it is a conflict that needed to happen; for others, it is something we strongly feel our country should not be involved in.
I’m not interested in defending one position or the other, but I do think that, given the war’s impact on our life, it is a good time to ask, “What does the Bible say about war?” So, for the next two to three weeks I want to share some of God’s teachings on the subject. My prayer is that by understanding war from God’s perspective, we can respond in a way that honors Him whenever it comes into our lives.
The first question I would like to explore is: “What is the real cause of war?” The Bible says that most wars are caused by two things: selfishness and pride. James 4:1-2 asks, “Where do these wars and battles between yourselves first start? Isn’t it precisely in the desires fighting inside your own selves? You want something and you haven’t got it; so you‚re prepared to kill. You have an ambition you can’t satisfy, so you fight to get your way by force.”
Whenever there is a battle between two nations, this is almost always the cause. The same is true in battles between businesses, husbands and wives, parents and children… whenever there is conflict, some one (or both!) is acting out of selfishness or pride.
There’s an old story about President Lincoln who was walking down the street one day with his two boys. Both were crying and frustrated. Someone asked him, “What’s wrong with your little boys?” “Nothing,” said Lincoln, “just what’s wrong with the world. I have three walnuts and each wants two.”
The Bible says in Proverbs 13:10 “The effect of pride is fighting.” Your personal perspectives will determine how you apply that fact to the war we are now engaged in, but in my view there is no shortage of pride on both sides of the conflict with Iraq.
A second question we could explore is this one: “Is it ever right to fight?” The best place to start answering that question from the Bible is Romans 12:18, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” God clearly states that we should do all we can to live at peace with others, but the implication of the verse is just as clear: sometimes avoiding conflict is not possible.
God knows that sometimes it is impossible to live at peace with someone else. And so do you. All of us can think of people who, no matter what we did, were impossible to get along with. And if someone (individual or nation) is abusing those who are weaker than them, I’m not about to have peace with them until they stop the abuse. So my understanding of the Bible leads me to a very straightforward answer: Yes, sometimes it is right to fight.
The question, of course, is when does an individual or nation cross over the line that makes it impossible to live at peace with them. Next week we will explore that question in detail, and look at 3 reasons that God says should spur us to battle.
