As I write this column, the world is reeling from the fallout of another war. I know that, technically, nations prefer to speak about special operations and other expressions that describe their actions. Essentially, these terms aim to mitigate the harshness of the word ‘war’.
Humans are naturally very vulnerable and need to protect their property, livelihoods and lives. In the case of nations, this often involves territory, intellectual property or routes to and from their markets. We live in an increasingly complex world where attacks on national well-being have moved on from military action to include cyber-attacks and other forms of warfare.
The potential for war is constant - most of us know the current locations - Israel, Gaza, Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Israel, USA. In the past fifty years, wars have taken place in the Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Vietnam and, sadly, many more locations.
Our proclivity to fight has existed from the beginning of time. Whether you think of the first murder case (Cain v Abel) or the first recorded war in the Bible between a five-nation v four-nation confederacy headed by the King of Sodom and the King of Shinar (ancient Iraq), aggressive action has always existed.
Why do we have the desire to fight in us? Some would say that it’s a protection mechanism that clicks in when we are threatened. Maybe so, but let’s take it back a level. Why do we feel threatened, and why do people do things that play on our vulnerabilities, causing us to act to protect? Can we not live at peace with our neighbour as the Bible teaches, Leviticus 19.18, Matthew 22.39. It seems not. After the world wars of the early 20th century, it was vowed that it would never happen again - these were meant to be ‘the wars to end all wars’. Organisations such as the United Nations and NATO were formed to ensure that this did not happen again - but it has. Why?
The Bible has the only logical answer. The problem lies deep in our hearts. As the ancient prophet Jeremiah wrote – ‘the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked,’ Jeremiah 17 verse 9.
We do not need a change in policy, re-education, or a better military; what we need is a new heart. We need forgiveness and a change of character. The Bible does not present a top-down approach where you create policies and legislate so that people conform. We need an inside-out approach. Jesus said that our problems come ‘out of the heart’. The solution to our world’s problems is to be found through Jesus, the Son of God. His death paid the legal price to clear our guilt and change our character. That’s what the Bible calls conversion.
In the Jewish scriptures, God promised that one day He would give a ‘new heart and a new spirit,’ Ezekiel 36 verse 26, to His people Israel after washing them clean from their impurities and filth. Israel is not alone in needing the cleansing of God; all nations do, ‘for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,’ Romans 3. 23. What God will do for Israel as a nation in the future He offers to you and I today because of the death, burial and resurrection of His Son, Jesus.
‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,’ 1 John 1. 9.
Thank God, there is a day coming when there will be no more war. As individuals, we can enjoy a personal taste of what that feels like when we accept God’s terms of peace through Jesus Christ.
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