Wars have been fought for different reasons. There have been religious, political, and economic wars. Some have been just for conquest. Some have been fought because one monarch was insulted by another, which is why Napoleon invaded Russia. Many have been fought over combinations of the above. Some of the most ugly and devastating of all have been racist wars.
Every war is the result of some failure in human relations. Potentially great and devastating wars have also been avoided by remarkable statesmanship. The Lord has a special heart and place for the peacemakers. These should be esteemed more in our history than those successful at war, but they are not. Even so, as we are told in Ecclesiastes 3, there is a time for war and a time for peace. If it is time for war, then those who do not fight are the ones out of step with the times.
As we see in Scripture, there will be war until the end of this age. It is right to seek peaceful conclusions to our disputes, until war begins. Then we must fight, and we must fight to win. If we are going to win from heaven’s perspective, we must also fight the right way.
Some of the most touching stories of war are things like the troops on both sides in our American Civil War and in World War I singing Christmas carols to their enemies in the trenches. It brought a poignant realization that brothers in Christ were facing each other, and the next day would try to kill each other. How could this be right?
War is an ultimate human failure. War is one of the devil’s biggest victories. His intent is to kill and destroy, and nothing accomplishes this in a bigger way than war. So why don’t we refuse to fight them? Because the devil, and those controlled by him, will not. To refuse to fight in an inevitable or right war is not choosing to do what is right. Rather, it is to submit to evil. There are righteous wars. When it is right and time to fight, we will be in rebellion if we do not do our part.
Even The Lord says repeatedly in Scripture that He, our Leader, is a Warrior. Israel left Egypt as “a great mixed multitude,” or a mob, but before they even got to the Red Sea they were “marching in martial array,” or military order. Presently, the body of Christ is one big mob, with some groupings and associations but lacking in overall definition and discipline. This will soon change for the remnant that is left.
In every civil war, Christian leaders from both sides have claimed that theirs was the right side. This can be confusing. We must resolve to be sure we are fighting on the right side and for the right cause. When this is established, the most merciful way is to fight to win decisively and as quickly as possible.
Harry Truman was right when he said that “Most people are defeated by their secondary successes.” This means that they got distracted from their ultimate objective after achieving lesser ones. There are many examples of this in history, and Truman was likely correct to say this happens to “most people.” It was true in our Revolutionary and Civil Wars. How do we avoid this deadly trap? We must determine now what the ultimate objectives are—anything less than these would be a defeat.
I have an opinion of what ultimate victory in the unfolding Revolutionary/Civil War looks like, but I don’t want to share it and I don’t even want to have it. What we need, and what I’m begging for, is heaven’s perspective on this. My dream on December 14, 2018 was just a small beginning of this for me. It does not matter how mature we are in Christ or how successful we have been as a steward of His mysteries—it is a terrible presumption to think that He is just like us and that His opinions are the same as ours. I am a religious conservative, and I try to keep in mind that it was the religious conservatives that were the worst enemies of Christ when He walked the earth. Why?
If you look at their doctrine, the Pharisees were generally correct in most of their beliefs. They were the most devoted to being faithful to the Scriptures and were carrying the greatest hope for the Messiah. Yet, they resisted Him more than any other group when He came! Why?
Again, we can be right in our politics, our policies, and our beliefs, but have pride that is more deadly than the evil we are fighting. Pride caused the first fall and virtually every fall since. We can be right but not be righteous. For winning the present war, it is crucial to not just fight for what is right, but to do it in the right spirit. We must fight for right and we must do it right.
In the Revolutionary War, the “Patriots” who wanted independence were about 30% of the population. The “Loyalists” who wanted to remain British subjects were also about 30%. The other 40% were undecided, or tended to switch sides according to who was winning. Today, we have about 30% who are liberal, 30% conservative, and the 40% that are still undecided or wavering. Soon all will have to choose a side. Now is the time to resolve what we believe in.
