The Eternal Patriot

"I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country." - Nathan Hale

The world would have you believe that there is nothing more noble than patriotism.  It's the ultimate selfless act to be of service to your nation.  However, as Christians, we are not of the world and so there are a few things worth considering before enlisting in military service.  Military life can put a strain on your ability to serve the Lord by interfering with church attendance and sufficient time for bible study.  But today I'd like to talk about one thing in particular that, for many, is completely glossed over.  Military life can put you in a position in which you will have to kill.  Can a Christian kill in battle without committing murder?

Murder?


The bible makes a distinction between murder and killing in battle.  The ancient Jews often went to war at the Lord's command and, as happens in battle, many deaths occurred.  As these deaths were the result of action that the Lord commanded we know that killing a fellow human does not always fall under the definition of murder.  However, the key point to remember here is that the Lord commanded these battles.

Numbers 33:50-53 (NASB)
Then the LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho, saying,
"Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images and demolish all their high places; and you shall take possession of the land and live in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it.

In a typical battle in which random country goes to battle against other random country, this is not due to a command of the Lord.  Therefore, whether or not the act of killing is murder or not must be decided through other reasoning.

The bible does not explicitly give approval for self defense, but it's certainly eluded to...


Luke 22:36 (NASB)
And He said to them, "But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one."

Here the Lord is discussing when his followers will go into the world and preach.  We know that if self defense were not acceptable that Jesus would not have encouraged the purchasing of one.

So we've established that taking a life can be acceptable under certain circumstances.  So if a soldier were sent out to battle during World War II, for example, because he was drafted, he could defend himself from the enemy without guilt.  But if the soldier opted for moments of personal vengeance or the killing of prisoners then it is likely that murder has entered into his heart.  In fact, it is my opinion that two soldiers in a squad could both fire into the same group of enemies, but receive different judgments for their behaviors.  One soldier may have acted in defense while another may have committed murder.  It depends on the heart of the individual.  In this example, the innocent soldier was drafted.  He did not want to be fighting in the first place but he was there to protect his fellow men and himself.  The guilty soldier, meanwhile, joined up with the express intention to kill as many of the enemy as possible.

To be clear, I'm not suggesting that every soldier that volunteered for service during World War II is a murderer and all innocent soldiers were drafted.  I believe it would be a righteous thing, given the dire circumstances of World War II, to want to defend your country and its people from an enemy that was so obviously evil.  Again, it depends on the heart of the individual.  I merely wish to point out that killing in a battle during a war does not mean murder cannot exist.

This world is full of much darkness and even for the Christian a time might come to take up arms against his fellow man.  However, we must always remember that this is to be a last resort.  If we were slapped on the face the Lord would rather us turn the other cheek than to seek retribution.  Likewise, death cannot always be justified in a time of war.

Though eventually the time for war will come.

Ecclesiastes 3:8 (NASB)
A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.