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NOTE: This article or series has not been updated recently. As such, it may possibly contain some outdated information, and/or ideas and beliefs which I no longer embrace, or which have changed to some degree.



One point worth mentioning is that some people convert to Christianity after they are already in the military establishment. What about them? As previously stated, prayer does work miracles, but at the same time, if the Lord does not deliver you from your situation, then perhaps He has a reason for it. Maybe He has chosen you to reach people within the military establishment, just as Joseph, Daniel, Esther and a few others worked from within the governments of their day. The main thing you need to remember is that God does not make mistakes, and even your own mistakes can be used for God's glory if you cry out to Him. Who knows, if you start preaching the Gospel to all of your comrades, maybe they will get so tired of you that they will gladly boot you out of the service! But if not, then He must have a specific reason for having you where you are. As Paul said in his letter to the Romans:

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."


Another point which is important to remember is that as long as you have free will, absolutely no one can force you to pick up a gun and kill another human being. Neither can they force you to fly a jet, launch a missile, lay body-destroying mines, use biological or chemical weapons, remote controlled devices such as drones, electromagnetic weapons, or whatever other toys of hellish destruction the military uses these days, and they are indeed devilish.

If you protest strongly enough, you will hopefully never even find yourself in a situation where you will be confronted by these things. Perhaps you will be assigned to a nonviolent post such as working in an office. Of course, as I already mentioned, you must also realize that you should be prepared for some form of retribution from those people who are more patriotic and macho than yourself, including your commanding officers and your fellow soldiers who may view you as a wimp. In the final analysis, you must decide beforehand how much punishment and/or ridicule you are prepared to take for the cause of Christ. Here are some verses which may be an encouragement to you in your time of need:

"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."


"But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy."


"Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."


In conclusion, what is deemed to be murder, and what is considered to be justifiable killing, is clearly determined by those in power according to their own agendas, regardless of what the Bible might say. While killing a person in a convenience store to obtain money to buy drugs is viewed as cold-blooded murder, forcefully going into a foreign country under false pretenses to grab control of their natural resources or to incapacitate a leader who does not tow the line of your government is viewed as a heroic act. In short, using force and violence, whether it be on a personal or national level, is wrong. In this day and age of high tech society and fast living, it seems that we no longer know how to use talk and peaceful diplomacy to resolve our differences. While diplomatic meetings are still held, sometimes those involved in them do not trust each other and merely exchange boldface lies while they shake hands with a plastic smile etched on their faces. Sometimes such meetings are only used to buy more time while both parties continue to build up their military forces in preparation for an inevitable military confrontation.

What is particularly sad about this confrontational mentality is that even young children are growing up with the mistaken idea that if a person wants something bad enough, the only way to get it is through force and violence. This is easily observable in children who are constantly exposed to all kinds of violence on television. If that weren't enough, some irresponsible parents think nothing of buying their children such things as toy guns, soldiers, video games full of violence and destruction, etc. Truly, these misguided parents will reap what they sow, for as we are told in the Book of Proverbs:

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."


This verse can work in either direction. As parents, we can help our children to grow up into God-fearing responsible loving adults, or we can watch as they turn into unloving, selfish violent children of hell who think nothing of resorting to violence to achieve their goals.

In conclusion, wars today are NOT the result of some holy righteous cause ordained by the Lord as in the days of ancient Israel, but are rather the result of a lustful greed for power and wanting more than one's share of the pie. Technologically developed nations consume much more than their share of natural resources, while weaker developing nations barely get by. To sustain their lavish lifestyles, these richer nations will use their armies, exercise unfair economic practices, incite civil unrest in foreign nations to weaken their defenses, and use other unscrupulous methods in order to steal from their neighbors. Power is the name of the game, and those who are on top are the ones who make the rules, and that includes the rules regarding killing, murder and war.

Regardless of what worldly governments or worldly people may do, as Christians, we must learn to have a clean conscience before the Lord and to do what is right in His eyes, even when it is not popular in the eyes of men. After all, as the Apostle Paul once said:

". . . let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind . . . So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God."


With these thoughts, I will bring this article to a close. It is my hope that you have found it informative, enlightening, and I pray that it has been a blessing in your life as well. If you have an account with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or with any other social network, I would really appreciate if you'd take the time to click or tap on the corresponding link that is found on this page. Thanks so much, and may God bless you abundantly!

For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below which were either mentioned in this article, or which contain topics which are related to this article. All of these articles are likewise located on the Bill's Bible Basics web server. To read these articles, simply click or tap on any link you see below.

Civil Disobedience and Christian Persecution
Divine Protection: Do You Have Fear or Faith?
Don't Ever Underestimate Our Spiritual Enemy
God of Peace, God of War
Killing, Murder and Military Duty
Oh Israel, Why Will Ye Die?
Owning Guns: What Saith the Scriptures?
School Shootings: The Second Amendment Controversy
The Children of God and Politics
The Fruits of Disobedience
The Royal Law: Thou Shalt Love
You've Got It Wrong: Submit and Live!

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Please avail yourself of other areas of the Bill's Bible Basics website. There are many treasures for you to discover.