(Editor’s note: Brother Randy offers these thoughts today, on the anniversary of the birthdate of one of history’s bloodiest warmongers)
A lot of us are currently asking the same question as Edwin Starr did so many years ago: War, what is it good for? For longer than anyone has currently been alive there has been war and conflict between nations, cultures, ethnicities and so on. As Starr so reminds, war is good for absolutely nothing at all.
Currently in our world today we are engaged through media, which, lest we forget uses its power of persuasion to manipulate the emotions and beliefs of those watching the war from afar, behind a TV, computer monitor or our cellphones. How quickly society has forgotten just how distorted the networks in their telling of the story. To the left or to the right there is a fight to lure us in.
Not so long-ago, Ukraine was embroiled in its own controversies and scandals. They were not so popular on the world stage. The new enemy to get people away from thinking about Afghanistan, the middle east or Libya.
Russia, oh you big bad Russia, or is it really President Putin who everyone dislikes? It seems either has been a sworn enemy of the world. Currently they are engaged in a war-like situation with Ukraine for whatever wrong they think Ukraine has committed. To the west it is wrong (because they are so democratic. I’ll get to that in a little bit)
How quickly the world looking on has forgotten about what had happened not so long ago in Ukraine. Has this military action now become a battle between evil and a lesser evil, again because of a dislike for the man Putin? The man is evil, no doubt about it, but how much less evil is Ukraine leader Zelenskyy? It is only because he chose to fight back against Putin that he has been elevated to near sainthood.
There is a lot of talk about the atrocities going on in this conflict, and yes, anytime someone dies in war it is an atrocity, but there are a couple of things the masses seem to want to forget. The first would be where the conflict is being staged. There is no giant field where soldiers can safely go to kill each other. War involves the takeover of cities and towns which are occupied by civilians. In the Ukraine’s case, some civilians who have taken up arms to stand beside their soldiers. I’ll get back to this.
Second and this is for the people on this side of the pond who have never had to know or fight a war on their soil. They get all up in arms (pardon the pun) about innocents being killed. Their leader, Zelenskyy, has convinced them that unless they get up to fight for their country they will be overrun by Putin and his Russian forces. In response to Zelenskyy’s pleading they take up arms. Now he addresses the world leaders making demands for weapons, money, and tougher sanctions against Russia. Oh, and by the way most of the Russian people stand against the war but Zelenskyy want to punish them too.
Back to the people of Ukraine taking up arms to fight. When they die all the blame is shifted to Putin as if he himself was on the battlefield and had personally killed each one which he hasn’t. His troops are the ones engaging the civilians who have taken up action against them. Yes, I know there are civilians getting killed when all they are trying to do is flee to safety. Whoever said war was fair or played nicely? War is hell, or do you remember that sentiment? Death is part and parcel of it.
This conflict has taken its toll on the Christian as well. How do we love those fighting in the war the way God does when we are so busy calling Putin down, taking up sides and such? We should, and I mean every last person who calls themselves a Christian, be looking to our Bibles and keeping our eyes open for the return of our only peace, Jesus Christ. Godless people from godless countries fighting a godless war, and we, a God-centred people pick sides.War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing.
I am visually impaired (legally blind). Creator of varied spice blends and hot sauces. Writer of poetry, fiction and non-fiction. Lover of life. Man of faith.