Waging War

While the word war refers primarily to armed conflict between nations or between opposing parties within a nation, it can also be applied to any active contention between living beings. Like it or not, we all have to wage war with others from time to time. This can take on the form of nations declaring war upon each other, or a person physically fighting off an attacker, or persons contending with one another in a court of law or in the court of the church, or two opponents engaging in a verbal debate, or parents having to resist a rebellious teenager. As Christians, it is our duty to avoid conflict as much as possible as the following verse clearly shows.

Romans 12:18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

Dr. Robin Wright once said that we should not go looking for battles. He said that God will bring to us the battles that He wants us to fight. I quite agree with Dr. Wright. Our general disposition should be toward seeking peace rather than conflict. However, as the above verse allows, there are times when it is not possible to live peaceably with other men. At such times, there will be conflict. In the face of this possibility, it pays to know how to wisely wage war.

War is never something any of us should rush into. Consider these two passages given by the wisest man that ever lived with the exception of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Proverbs 20:18 Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war.

Proverbs 25:8 Go not forth hastily to strive, lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof, when thy neighbour hath put thee to shame.

If you are considering waging war, it is always wise to seek out good advice before doing so. To hastily jump into a conflict without counsel can leave you defeated in the end. The great military strategist Sun Tzu taught that it takes more than courage to win a war. A reckless general may be courageous, but lacking wisdom, he will be a calamity. Battles are lost for want of counsel.

Proverbs 11:14 Where no counsel is, the people fall.

Now it is always possible that one could be suddenly attacked by a thug, which would require him to quickly resort to self-defense. But by practicing forethought and caution, one can often avoid the places and people where those kinds of attacks are more likely to occur.

Proverbs 22:3 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.

Seeking counsel is especially important when the desire to wage war is motivated by anger or revenge since passion tends to interfere with good judgment. Observe that one should make war with good advice. Your information will never be any better than your source of information. Talk to people of experience and sober judgment, who have both witnessed battles and fought some themselves. And don’t just talk to the people you expect will agree with you. Get an opposing viewpoint. In fact, you will find it safer to get several viewpoints. “In the multitude of counsellers there is safety” (Proverbs 24:6). Weigh all the information and then decide on a course of action.

Before entering into any conflict, always ask yourself what you intend to accomplish. What is your objective? In a publication entitled War: Moral or Immoral, Colonel R. B. Thieme, Jr. wrote: “No great military organization has ever succeeded without a thorough knowledge of its objective.” Is your objective to rescue a kidnapped family member as when Abraham waged war to rescue his nephew Lot (Genesis 14:12-14)? Or is it getting your fair share of property? Or is it stopping a behaviour that is destroying the company, or the church, or the family? Or is your objective merely to take revenge? If so, you are intruding into God’s domain.

Romans 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

Always be sure your objectives do not clash with God’s express will for you life.

Also, before you enter into a conflict, ask yourself if this is really your battle to fight. Sometimes in our zeal to right wrongs, we take on what is properly another person’s battle. I may see wrong in another pastor’s church, but righting that wrong is not my responsibility. God did not commit to me the oversight of every church. Our U.S. military today is stretched too thinly because we have bought into the idea that it is our calling as a nation to right the wrongs of other nations. Solomon said it so well in this proverb:

Proverbs 26:17 He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.

And when you contemplate whether to wage war or not, always count the cost and ask yourself if it is worth that cost. Our Lord taught the wisdom of this principle.

Luke 14:31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?

32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.

Now there may always be that battle worth fighting whether you win or lose. Many a Christian has lost his job, his friends, his family, and even his life because he stood his ground on principle and would not surrender. Of course, in the larger picture, such loss is only temporary. In the end, the Christian will emerge the victor.

Matthew 16:25 …whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.