In part I of this blog, we particularly looked at the military in light of units like the Army, Navy, Air Force & Marines. From the scriptures, our main purpose was to show them as ordained of God to do good and put down evil.
At the end of part I, I made mention of other people such as policemen and policewomen. Indeed even security people who are hired can be included in this category. Surely you can see how if they do their job properly, this helps make society, businesses, and indeed life more enjoyable. The better they do their job, the more at ease people can be mentally as well. To use this in a disturbing context today, think about security people in public schools. It is certainly a shame we have come to that place, but the security is there to physically stop anything harmful from happening, but it is also hoped that parents can have a little more peace of mind in sending their children to school. It is hoped that the security people will create an atmosphere that will deter any evil plans.
We can certainly see this applying to our Coast Guard. These folks have never gotten the credit they deserve. Today, they have a very serious and difficult responsibility. From my study, it is said that the Coast Guard is the most difficult branch of service to get into.
Now I’ll really jump into the fire and talk about securing the border and those who serve in that type of security. They too put their lives on the line and particularly today in an area that seems so uncertain, at times. I believe anyone in this day and time who does not believe we should secure our country’s borders is, at best, misguided or, at the worst, a traitor to this country! I am certain that all of our country’s leaders secure their own homes and properties. Do they just let people walk into their homes off the street uninvited? I think you get the point. Their homes will be secure, let there be no doubt. America is our home, as well, yet many say just leave the door open so anyone can come in. How absurd – particularly for someone who is supposed to be leading this country.
Now I am not saying for a minute that securing all of our borders would be easy by any means, but; it should be the policy and principle that we stand on, and it ought to be broadcast worldwide. Every enemy of this country should have in his or her mind that when they cross into our land, their life is on the line. Just like it would be if they walked into your house unannounced!
I would further say this, if you are having difficulty processing all of the problems and situations that our country is going through, ask yourself this question: What would be my position if this was my home or my family? In many instances you will find that things clear up very quickly when you view things from that perspective. It is an interesting study in the Bible to see what God says about watchmen and those whose job it is to watch out for a city or a land.
It is interesting that I am writing about this subject at this time. Last week, the world’s attention was off the coast of Somalia where pirates are attacking vessels, demanding ransom payments, etc. We remember Captain Richard Phillips whose ship was attacked and he allowed himself to become a hostage so that his men could go free. Many will remember that this went on for several days with the arrival of an American Navy vessel. Navy Seals took out the pirates and freed Captain Phillips – interesting enough on the day we call Easter.
There was, and continues to be, much rejoicing over the success of this mission from our standpoint. If we would look at the other side of it for a moment, three men were taken out in a moment. It is a shame that it ended that way, but little choice was given. The pirates set this whole thing in motion and they reaped what they sowed.
A point that this incident makes is this – evil will get in your face, it will come knocking at your door. It is certainly a disturbing trend in our country. I remember when we could leave all our doors unlocked (house and car) – how about you? Do you remember those days? It used to be the bad guys were far away and your code of conduct could be, I will not bother you if you will not bother me.
Those days are long gone with evil, as I said before, being unashamed to get in your face – invading your home through the television, through the internet, newspapers, magazines, music, violence in our schools, random shootings because people are depressed, gangs are coming to a neighborhood near you, and a culture that most of you would never allow in your homes. In many homes of people I know, I dare any 13-year-old to act like a majority of them do on the television programs that are standard issue – I know what your reaction will be, the same thing we got – a big whuppin’. We were taught unashamedly that people (including children) were not to act like a bunch of heathens!
Perhaps we have gotten a little off the subject, but I wanted to show that those in our society that are required to keep order and security are dealing with a number of people who are out of control, that have a confrontational personality, and for the most part never grew up with the values that many of us knew as normal discipline and training.
I have tried to show in this topic that we can demonstrate Biblically that people of God, and God Himself, (along with the hosts of heaven) are not hesitant to confront evil in both word and deed. Yes, there are times when we as individuals are required to turn the other cheek and times to suffer wrong and count it all joy. Yet we are told in the New Testament that we are soldiers in a spiritual battle first and foremost as individuals.
I will conclude by pointing out that from Genesis to Revelation, we see angels as those beings that often bear a sword. One angel was going to kill Balaam in Numbers in Numbers 22:23. In Exodus 33:2 we see an angel going before the children of Israel to clear out the Promised Land before their arrival. In II Kings 19:35 we see where one angel smote 185,000 in one night of an army coming against Israel. In I Chronicles 21:16 David sees an angel with a sword stretched over Jerusalem. We see angels fighting the hosts of darkness – the book of Daniel has a good example. In my first blog I mentioned the incident in the book of Acts where an angel smote Herod. The book of Revelation is full of angels in warfare. I would also mention that in Matthew 26:53, Jesus said that God would dispatch 12 legions of angels if He only asked for them. We can be assured that those angels would not be coming just to play harps.
Let us pray for the grace and wisdom to respond properly and in the right way to all of the difficult situations ahead of us.
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