Jonathots Daily Blog
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When is it right to fight–to stand up for yourself? Everyone I know and everywhere I look, people say you have to “fight back” and “defend yourself.” So what does it mean to “turn the other cheek” or even “thou shall not kill?” And how is it we are a “Christian nation” when fighting and killing and wars are constant?
Let’s begin with the concept of a “Christian nation.”
Jesus never envisioned his work as a country. He said his “kingdom is not of this world.” So the Christian message was intended to be an individual experience. Then these converts were challenged to become “the light of the world,” and affect the climate of society.
So to tout ourselves as a Christian nation, we have blended in the concepts of the Old Testament so that we can obtain a nationalistic flavor. And when you include the Old Testament, you get “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” and vendettas against enemies.
So I don’t know if it’s possible to approach this as a Christian nation without including ideas which Jesus said had been cast aside in favor of more loving and noble adventures.
If we were a Christian nation, our agenda would be simple: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
In other words, take care of those around us and develop a healthy, prejudice-free environment where people can prosper, and in so doing, gain personal peace of mind and solvency.
Then that “city on a hill” could be a testimony to the world and they could begin to measure their philosophies against our philosophy, and decide where they might want to revise their thinking.
Of course, in the process, we must realize that enemies still come along due to jealousy and revenge, but when this happens, we can stand guard without totally destroying those who attack us.
This is exemplified in the Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus takes eleven men into this secluded place for a time of prayer, asking them if they had the means to defend themselves, and when they said, “We have two swords,” he replied, “It is enough.”
So if we could put together a military without trying to overwhelm our enemies with our prowess, then we would be in a position to take the rest of our money and use it to improve the lives of our citizens instead of constructing an arsenal of intimidation.
You will be told by most people that this idea is childish and stupid. This is why Jesus never intended to take over countries and rule them.
The Christian message is intended to be placed in existing cultures, and through its charity, affect the climate that surrounds it.
So I don’t think there’s an easy answer to this question. Yet I will tell you that the fighting and killing that goes on in our world cannot be attributed to the message of Jesus of Nazareth, because he never intended to possess turf.
And if you ever have to add Old Testament to New Testament to justify your actions, then you are not living under the total spiritual impact of the Kingdom of God.
So I walk in a simple situation:
- If the United States is attacked, we should defend ourselves.
- We should also protect the innocent of the world as much as possible without entering into old grudges that are thousands of years in the making.
- And we should take most of our financial power to build up the lives of our people so that we can offer a testimony of peace and prosperity to the world around us.
Whatever it would take to do this is what would be sufficient. Because when eleven men told Jesus they had two swords, he said it was enough.
It certainly is not enough to attack, but it did end up being enough to allow them to escape.
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Jonathots Daily Blog 