The chaplain is a member of the profession of arms. While a non-combatant and usually distant from kinetic combat, the chaplain works with warfighters daily. Many of these warfighters may not even recognize that they are the nation’s defenders, but each has a valuable role to play; if any current warfighting role were obsolete, their position would be withdrawn, so at this point in history, they are warfighters.
Chaplain, you must have a robust theology of war and warriors.
Not least of which Paul says we are in constant combat, not with this physical
world, but with the spiritual world (Ephesians 6:10-20). Jesus said if his
kingdom were of this world, his servants would have been fighting, but his kingdom
is not from the world (John 18:36). Romans 13:1-7 is clear that the government
exists to bear the sword for good, proving a terror to bad conduct.
Chaplain, you live in both worlds, fighting the
good fight in the spiritual realm, and bearing the sword in the physical realm,
training soldiers to do righteously and to see the battle raging all around
them.
A soldier who doesn’t fight is a derelict at best and a
traitor at worst. Chaplain, wage war for souls, fight the good fight, bear the
sword in righteousness, and love your enemies. How can you use the current conflicts and rumors of conflict in this world to point to Jesus?
Let a soldier be ever so well armed without, if he have not within a good heart, his armour will stand him in little stead. Spiritual strength and courage are very necessary for our spiritual warfare. ~ Matthew Henry
Key Verse: Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains
my hands for war, and my fingers for battle… ~ Psalm 144:1
More:
1. A beneficial exercise for military members is to take them through
what would happen if their career field suddenly vanished from the military. A
couple of slogans that help to show the importance of every career field are, “An
army marches on its stomach,” “Without POL (Petroleum Oil and Lube) Pilots are
Pedestrians,” and “If it’s in the air, maintenance put it there.” Chaplain,
what would happen if chaplains vanished from the military? Would warfighting
capabilities be diminished?
2. “War is Hell,” said William Tecumseh Sherman, and the
chaplain ought to see it for what it is. It is easy to romanticize war based on
stories of heroes and battles won, but the death and destruction wrought shows
the sinfulness of sin and the destruction of rebellion and conflict. How would
you describe war to a group of your military members who are about to embark on
a dangerous mission for the first time? Would you discuss “All who take the
sword will perish by the sword (Matthew 26:52)”? What if someone brings it up?
3. Jesus described himself as “meek”, which is often
mischaracterized as “weak”. The chaplain must understand that meekness is not a
lack of power, it is power under control. Without an underlying power, someone
cannot be meek, that makes them impotent. Jesus comes to judge and make war
(Revelation 19:11), his power is immense, immeasurable, infinite. How can you
help your members to grow in self-control and imitate Christ in meekness, so that they will inherit the earth?
4. Further Resources:
Gurnall, Wiliam. The Christian in Complete Armour. Edinburgh:
Banner of Truth Trust, 1991.
Sauvé, Brian. Psalm 144 (A Fortress is My Lord). From
Even Dragons Shall Him Praise. Ogden, UT: New Christendom Press: 2023.
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