A Noble Cause

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Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.  – Philippians 4:8

Look around you—the ranks of our military are filled with honorable men and women of noble character. And for the past decade (and more) we have observed your sacrifice in arduous training, perseverance, courage under fire, tough decisions, painful trauma, obedience to command, discipline and patience in long hours and hard work, exposure to new cultures and strange ways . . . . and the loneliness of it all, when loved ones are far away and some folks just don’t understand the calling.

There’s been satisfaction, then, over Sunday night’s news that Osama bin Laden, leader in the 9/11 bombings and of a world-wide terrorist network, had been brought to justice. And rightly so, for this mission was one every American hoped for and even dared to anticipate. But Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, explains our satisfaction this way, “Once again, Christians are reminded of the inherent limitations of justice in a fallen and sinful world.  At our very best, we can achieve only a small proportion of adequate justice.  We can convict the murderer and put him to death, but we cannot bring the dead back to life.  We can put an end to Osama bin Laden, but we are robbed of the satisfaction of seeing him answer for his crimes.”  (www.albertmohler.com)  Osama bin Laden will answer to God, with that we are certain, and at God’s throne justice is accomplished.

The military calling is a noble one. “’Noble’ implies a loftiness of character or spirit that scorns the petty, mean, base, or dishonorable,” says the American College Dictionary. With freedom as the goal of our actions around the world, we can surely see how the motivation of noble action is for “the good of others”—followed by training others to join in the effort with peace as the outcome. We, as Americans, understand that there is a price to this freedom, and our military families are willing to pay that price for the future peace of others. We truly are “the home of the free because of the brave”—and that gift has been freely given to liberate people around the world. Colin Powell once stated that the only land the U.S. ever asked for was land to bury its own dead—and that’s true.

So on this momentous day, since Scripture admonishes us to think on things that are noble, let us consider Isaiah 32:8, “The scoundrel’s methods are wicked, he makes up evil schemes to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just. But the noble man makes noble plans, and by noble deeds he stands.”

This noble cause . . .

1. . . . takes team. What happened in Pakistan took a combined effort of intelligence gathering, analysis, planning, and making the way for the final push to accomplish the mission. We know that. I address every military member in uniform with a “thank you for your service” because every single one of you (at home and abroad) is part of this event.

2. . . . takes time. Years of endurance in hellish environments and circumstances have gone into this raid.

3. . . . takes sacrifice. Thousands of honorable military members have been wounded or lost their lives in the fight—and it is not over yet. You represent what is good, better, and best in our country—and we are blessed by your service and sacrifice.

4. . . . takes commitment to mission. The resolve to “never give up” has demonstrated your willingness, and our willingness as a nation, to see this through. It will continue to keep us going even in the toughest of times.

5. . . . takes faith in God. We are to think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8) because those qualities are the character of God. When justice is accomplished, it reflects the character of God because He is a God of justice. When we fight for justice, He emboldens our cause. “Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right.” – Psalm 106:3

Your teamwork, endurance over time, sacrifice, commitment to the cause of freedom, and faith in God’s sovereign protection and provision are making us all grateful in this noble cause.

Questions to Share:

1. What are your thoughts and feelings after so many years of fighting?

2. Pray with your spouse, over phone or email (if possible) a prayer of gratitude for the courage and resolve of our American military.