The KoG, Vol.3, Chapter One: Thank You for Your Service
Chapter 1
Thank You for Your Service
Given that you know I want to explain how pacifism represents a kingdom perspective, it may seem odd where I want to go in this chapter. However, I think it I most important to start with what is good about the military and why it is so often held in high esteem. In a book like this, leaving that out would simply not be fair. I also do not want my readers to think that I have any desire to caricature military people as trigger-happy, uncaring folks just eager for a fight. Sure, there are some “Rambos” out there, but for most people that depiction would be entirely wrong.
Rare is the country on planet earth that does not love its military and does not give support to its troops. Crowds in most all countries are stirred by the sight of their nation’s military on parade. Smart uniforms, bodies moving in unison, flags unfurled, drums and bugles sounding off—hearts are moved, eyes grow moist. In these moments we are proud to be British or American or Russian. We feel pride at being Canadian, Japanese, Nigerian or Pakistani or Brazilian or South African. You fill in the blank. Somehow the military men and women of our nation embody our values and symbolize our unity.
Dr. Gordon S Livingston writing in Psychology Today magazine says, “No idea in the society is more pervasive than the notion that we all owe a debt of gratitude to the young men and women who have volunteered to fight our wars.” [1]
The troops represent the nation, serve the nation and put themselves in harm’s way for the nation. It has been said that no group understands better the idea of putting your country above yourself than those in the military. In most cases their presence gives their countrymen a sense of security. It is no wonder that people often say, “Thank you for your service.”
My own country, the United States of America, puts great stock in its military. The United States military budget four years ago was $610 billion. (The U.S. president asked for $686 billion for 2018.) Second to the US is China with $216 billion. The United States has 4% of the world’s population, but we spend 34% of all the money spent worldwide on military expenses. If you list the 8 countries that spend the most on the military, the US spends more than the other 7 combined, but Americans for the most part are proud of what we have and celebrate the military. While Congress gets an approval rating of 15% or lower in most polls, the military consistently scores around 85%.
This appreciation for the military is by no means limited to those with secular world views. While such support is found through all strata of our society, no segment of America is more supportive of the armed forces than those who are part of Bible-believing evangelical churches. It is common to see signs in front of houses of worship that read “Support our troops” or “Pray for our troops.”
A respected Christian website that answers questions states: “At the same time, Christians can rest assured that being a soldier is highly respected throughout the Scriptures and know that such service is consistent with a biblical worldview.” Later it concludes: “The Christian men and women who serve their country with character, dignity, and honor can rest assured that the civic duty they perform is condoned and respected by our sovereign God. Those who honorably serve in the military deserve our respect and gratitude.”[2]
In searching the Web for the connection between churches and troop-support efforts, I did not find much of an effort to show a biblical basis for such support, but did find numerous sites giving church members ideas of how to support men and women in uniform. One might think Scripture says that true religion is caring for widows, orphans and the troops.
Offering Protection
For Americans, and, I suspect, for others, the number one reason for supporting our troops is that they are seen as those that protect our freedoms and provide protection. Again, Dr. Livingstone writes: “All our wars, of course, are justified as struggles for freedom, either our own or that of the people in the countries in which we fight.” In the words of British politician and former cabinet minister, Des Browne, “We have a responsibility to support our troops and support their families, particularly when we are asking people to do very difficult and dangerous things for our security.”[3]
On the other hand, we should add that while many give thanks for troops that protect their freedoms, in some totalitarian countries and in those with strong dictatorships, troops maintain order but with harsh tactics, and they also prevent people from exercising freedoms that they yearn for. Instead of protecting freedom, they are experts at suppressing it. However, even in these countries, the propaganda machine is usually successful in focusing the nation on their enemies and in keeping their people appreciating their troops.
While in most people’s minds, the top reason to appreciate the military is the protection and security it usually offers in a world with many bad actors, there are other reasons to appreciate its work.
Rendering Aid
When natural disasters strike, the military is often more capable of responding that any other segment of society. They have the person-power, the equipment, the organization, the readiness and the efficiency to offer big doses of help to local emergency responders. Sometimes they can do what no one else can do. Witness the helicopter rescues, in New Orleans in 2005 and Houston in 2017, after devastating floods that followed hurricanes. Following the October 2005 earthquake in Pakistan, it was the combined effort of the armies of many countries that provided the largest humanitarian helicopter airlift ever seen.
On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria destroyed much of the island of Puerto Rico. Three weeks later the US general in charge of the military response would report that they had 68 helicopters and 14,300 troops aiding the recovery. While much remains to be done, even as I write this, there is no doubt that the military made a big difference.
On the U.S. Army website, army.mil, you can find a special section titled “Humanitarian Relief.” A recent check of that page revealed their efforts to restore power and put on roofs in Puerto Rico, help with pediatric nutrition in Honduras, and provide aid to burned out victims during the California wild fires. On the website one reads: “Providing humanitarian relief in the United States and around the world is an essential part of the mission of U.S. Army.” Having the military at the ready when disaster creates a crisis would certainly be seen as a plus by people of various nations who have come to count on their own armed forces at such times.
Additional Value
The first two items we have put in the positive column for the military are activities appreciated from those even on the outside. Some of the other positives that are often listed may be most appreciated by those on the inside. Let’s consider a few.
1. Giving one a sense of purpose. While working on this chapter, I stopped to watch a little of a talk show on one of the cable news networks. The host introduced his four guests, including one who was a former military officer. He looked to be between 35 and 40 years old. He still had his soldier’s haircut. He wore a navy blazer. Eventually the camera pulled back showing the entire group. It was then that I saw that the former officer had two prosthetic legs. I stayed longer than I first intended and eventually heard him describe his career as one motivated by a desire to serve something greater than himself.
Listening to him, I was painfully reminded of something I once said in a rather heated discussion with some other Christian teachers. My foolish comment went this way: “The values of the military are the exact opposite of the values of the Kingdom.” Several roundly criticized my statement, and I understand why. It was an overstatement and a half truth. Both the Kingdom of God and the military do exactly what that disabled warrior said: they call for followers to serve something greater than themselves. The overlap of Kingdom principles and military values do not stop there, but I won’t explore those here. Suffice it to say, while there are also some big differences in the two (which we will later explore), they are alike in calling us to sacrifice for a higher or greater purpose. As one soldier put it, “That’s when you learn the true meaning of service.”
2. Developing better relationships. Many military veterans talk often about the way they learned to appreciate others, rely on others and be devoted to the good of others during their time of service. A good number of those who leave the military miss the comradery they enjoyed. They talk of the team spirit they learned to develop and what it meant to be in a group where there was deep loyalty to one another.
Journalist Sebastian Junger, famously known as the author of The Perfect Storm, spent fourteen months embedded with a platoon in Afghanistan and then wrote the simply titled, War. One of his major points is how combat gives soldiers an intense experience of connection with each other and how many of them miss war when they are no longer in it. But as Junger explains in a TED talk, it is not the killing that they miss or the experience of being shot at, but it is the brotherhood. [4]
Of course, not every soldier ends up in combat, but even those who do not often report that in working together with others for a greater cause, they found deeper relationships than they had known before.
Then, there is the fact that the military has the ability to bring together people from diverse backgrounds, teaching them to build relationships that transcend the normal borders of race and culture. It is in the armed forces that many have learned what M.L. King spoke about: the content of a person’s character matters far more than the color of their skin.
3. Providing valuable training. If there is anything the military is very good at it is training, and soldiers are equipped in various ways and given skills they can use beyond their military careers. There are the various technical fields of electronics, environmental science, robotics, aviation, navigation and the like. For those eager to learn, there are ample opportunities to grow in leadership ability, planning, strategic thinking, team building and other skills that may greatly help them later on in business, education or even humanitarian work. And then there are those who report that it was in the military that they learned some of their most important life lessons: to overcome fear, to take responsibility, to respect the importance of leadership, to appreciate accountability and to be willing to sacrifice for others.
4. Demonstrating what it means to live with courage, heroism and sacrifice. Most of us will not be in circumstances where we are asked to risk our lives for the good of another, but those in the military are often operating in sphere where that is exactly what they have the opportunity to do. And it is from that sphere that we hear some of the most heart-moving stories of these qualities on display.
Author Mark Lee Greenblatt reached out to interview a number of members of the military who had demonstrated great heroism before writing his most recent book. One of these was an enlisted Marine named James Hassell. His platoon was in a fire fight in Najaf, Iraq. His friend, Ryan, took a hit and was badly wounded. Knowing his buddy would die if he left him there, James decided to pick him up and carry him to the medivac helicopter that was at the end of an alley a hundred yards away. It was a high-risk move. Together they would present a slow-moving target with snipers everywhere. But it was Ryan’s only chance, and James decided to risk his own life to give him that chance. They made it. Ryan is alive today.[5] On his website, Greenblatt describes many other heroic acts[6] and wrote a profound article on courage for the military.com website. [7]When I read of the James Hassels of the world and stories of winners of the Victoria Cross, the Silver Star, the Congressional Medal of Honor, or the Legion of Honor, I am humbled by the bravery and sacrifice these people have shown.
Now, with words like these I may come off sounding like a military recruiter. Of course, even at this point, you have good reason to suspect that I am taking you somewhere else, but I do want you, my readers, to know that I do not look at the armed forces with a jaundiced eye, and I hope that you can trust that I am sincere. I am going to share with you why I don’t think soldiering is our role and why we should not be training for war, but I don’t want you to think I am overlooking the reasons why so many think so highly of the military, and why we find many who treat it with great respect.
As we consider the Kingdom way, Jesus Way, I will not forget what is in this chapter. And I will be aware that because of these positive traits, some of you will struggle some, or a lot, with the rest of the book. Some of you have family members who are proud veterans. Some of you are proud veterans. Some of you are on active duty right now. Some may even be deployed in an active war zone. I think I can imagine what you feel when you hear me say, let’s consider another way. I do not lightly dismiss the service of those in uniform. But as those in the military teach us, we must always respond to a higher calling. With God’s help, that is what we will seek to do.
To order the book, The Kingdom of God, Vol.3: Learning War No More, click on this link or paste it into your browser: https://www.ipibooks.com/products/the-kingdom-of-god-vol-3
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[1] Gordon Livingston, “Why should we support the troops?” Psychology Today, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/lifelines/ 201203/why-should-we-support-the-troops (September 9, 2018).
[2] “What does the Bible say about a Christian serving in the military?” Got Questions https://www.gotquestions.org/military-Christian.html (November 3, 2018).
[3] “Des Browne,” Brainy Quote, https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/des_browne_712528 (August 15, 2018).
[4] Paul Szoldra, “Award-Winning Journalist Perfectly Captures The Reason Soldiers Often Miss Combat, Business Insider (September 4, 2018).
[5] Noemie Emery, “What is Courage?” Washington Examiner https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/what-is-courage (September 2018) DECEMBER 30, 2014.
[6] MarkLeeGreenblatt.com. http://markleegreenblatt.com/news-reviews/articles/
[7] Mark Lee Greenblast. “What I Learned about Courage from Interviewing our Troops” Military.com https://www.military.com/off-duty/books/2015/11/23/three-things-i-learned-about-courage-from-interviewing-our-troop.html (November 3, 2018).
