“Thou shall not kill.” (KJV Exodus 20:13)
“You shall not murder.” (NRSV Exodus 20:13)
“No murder.” (The Message Exodus 20:13)
I was coloring a picture of St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow’s Red Square when Russian forces invaded Urkaine. This scene was the next page in my adult coloring book and I call that “God’s timing.” I bought this coloring book on one of the rare visits to the grocery store during COVID-19. It has other tourist type scenes like the “Christ the Redeemer” statue in Rio de Janeiro and Syndey’s Opera House. At the time I figured I would never get to see these places in the world so I might as well color them to relax and use the time in quarantine to tour the world vicariously. I never thought I would be vicarioulsy fighting a war.
I am a child of the First Cold War. I say that because I think we are beginning a new, Second Cold War in our global village on this planet. This blog will consider the context of nation states as they relate to the 5th commandment. We have the Biblical promise of wars and rumors of wars, but is that a God-given forecast for our future, or a God declared consequence of our inability to resolve conflicts without violence? As a practicing Christian my basic identity comes under the heading “Child of God” who is trying to follow Jesus on a day-to-day basis. Beyond that basic identity I am also a citizen of the United States of America (See my blog entitled Dual Citizenship). I have tried to be a responsible citizen by learning the issues and voting for what I believed were policies that promoted justice and choosing candidates committed to servant leadership that listened to the issues and calmly discussed reasonable alternatives toward consensus of action. Most of the time this is not easy, but I am committed to the Lord and owe an allegiance also to my country. I consider the two as separate contexts that have the potential to work together for the good of others. My hobby of genealogy has also taught me that there are other countries from where my ancestors came. They were happy to emigrate when they did for whatever reasons, but we are all in this together now in the 21st Century.
I was one of the children in grade school who practiced hiding under our desks in case the USSR decided to launch a nuclear bomb toward the USA. I vividly remember thinking, while sitting on the floor, if there was a classroom somewhere in the USSR where the kids were practicing the same drill. I had a basic understanding of world powers and politics for the countries that had nuclear power. My knowledge of science told me that this action wasn’t going to save me from harm. Yet, I still had a sense of well-being as a Child of God. I figured if the leadership of the countries were stupid enough to resort to destroying the world, God would save me anyway—if not on earth, then in heaven. Such was my faith in the Sovereignty of God, but Cold War life seemed complicated even at age 8. When international diplomatic relations break down you get war in all its devastation and atrocities. And people who fight wars have set rules about just how we are supposed to fight wars. I supposed that is progress until those who are in battle throw out the rules and might becomes right at all costs. This was not Jesus’ word on how to treat enemies.
Some folks normalize war and violence by using Biblical passages from the time when the Israelites were conquering their promised land. They forget the context in which God was teaching them how to fully obey the new covenant code and laws, so they could prosper in the new land given to them. In obedience they were required by God to kill enemies and even some fellow members of the tribe that did not follow the laws given to them. There were no spoils of war allowed by God. God told them to burn everything that belonged to the people who God directed them to conquer. It was not a case of might makes right. It was an expression of God’s promises to a chosen people. Instead, the chosen people failed miserably on the obedience scale and were taken into custody and shipped off to a foreign land where they were allowed to survive. Jesus came to fulfill this law and perhaps even to overthrow it with something new. He clearly said, “turn the other cheek.”
And now we are supporting the Ukrainian people as they resist invasion from Russian forces. The state of cooperation between NATO powers has never seen such resolve and determination. Beau of the Fifth Column (a podcast I often watch) claims that international diplomacy is a poker game where everyone is cheating. The game is about power and not about obedience to God’s will. In most cases we rationalize the reasons for war to justify it. Thus this war is certainly justified as we seek to help another democratic republic that was invaded solely for the ambition and ego of its leader. The Ukrainian people did not deserve this intrusion on their land. The Russian people do not deserve this misguided use of their natural resources either. The sanctions imposed on Russian oligarchy while a useful tool to show international outrage, will put as much of a strain on the kitchen tables of average Russian families as worldwide inflation and supply chain issues cause our own struggles on our kitchen tables and in our gas tanks. While Ukrainian courage and fortitude to continue the fight have inspired many, it also suggests a long and painful path to resolution of this conflict. We continue to play out this old game of power, unfortunately now with 21st century weapons.
Let’s look at Luther’s explanation to the 5th commandment again:
“We should fear and love God so we should not endanger the lives of citizens of our neighboring countries, nor cause them any harm, but help and befriend them in every necessity of life when requested.”
I added “when requested” out of the temporal sovereignty we expect for nations. Perhaps the United Nations has failed to provide the accountability for actions motivated by any nation that chooses might is right. I am of the opinion that they never really could be empowered to do that. The UN was not formed with the imperative to “fear and love God” as its motivation for its mission. It was formed when nations that had nuclear weapons set up a hierarchy of power and influence. It’s a new century and we need to find another way to live together on this planet. This also reinforces the need to carefully scrutinize the personality and skills of anyone who will be placed in the position of national leadership. Zelensky has shown the world an amazing model of servant leadership, yet people are still dying everyday on both sides of the conflict as Putin continues to fight a medieval war of attrition.
Drawing lines on a map seems to require laws that accept and honor those lines and a mind set that does not demonize one nation over another, but rather accepts the lines drawn on the map as the will of the people and allows authentic cooperation to exist. Think about this for a moment: What if after the attack on the twin towers on Sept 11, 2001 the US president went on TV and announced this as a response:
We had been attacked by misguided and radicalized members of a religion who seemed to have chosen to be at war with us. We as a people while deeply saddened by the losses have decided that we will not engage in war with the nations represented by the attackers. Instead, we have nothing against the attackers that is worth the time, money, lives, and skills required to retaliate and to do so would repay violence with violence. We will be strong and resist the temptation for revenge. We will consider all those who died as national freedom heroes. We call upon all other nations to work toward living together in peace and to accept the difficult, often painful sacrifices which may be required to foster the cooperation needed between nations to live together on this planet in the 21st century.
Would this cause a revolution? Would we be living in a different world today? Would it have honored God? Or is this just my silly dream?
I am not suggesting that Ukrainians give up. They are defending themselves. But they will have a long road of emotional and physical healing ahead. I hope one day they can come to regard Russian people as neighbors. I cannot even begin to think about the future for the Russian people. I am the first generation of my family to have not taken up arms to fight in a war. I hope to keep it that way because I have learned the lesson that war really doesn’t solve the problem of human sin. I support tax dollars spent to provide the Ukrainians with weapons to defend themselves. I am also in daily prayer for an end to this war for the sake of both the Ukrainian and Russian people. I still don’t know what God is up to. I do think we need to seek new ways to solving old problems. It just might start on my own street with my neighbors until Jesus returns.
For your consideration:
Please choose at least one of the following to do:
1. Read Walter Wink’s “The Powers That Be: Theology for a New Millennium” this summer.
2. Pray for the people of Ukraine and Russia that they may have peace and faith in God.
3. Pray for the United Nations to reform policies so that aggressive nations are held accountable.
4. Pray for veterans who have sacrificed for the cause of freedom that they may get the resources needed for their healing.
5. Support any veteran organization working to improve health care and support for veterans.
6. Pray that the leaders of the nations of the world will have wisdom, strength, and the courage to work for peace on this planet.
7. Look into contributing to the Society of Friends (Quakers) who lobby Congress to spend less on the military and more on social programs to empower the poor.
Thanks Jackie😊
Yes! I still believe, God is our only Hope. Yes that means all three (Trinity )✝️