Reflections on New World Order, Part One

The fifth anniversary of 9/11 has caused me to ponder recently the war on terror and this new world order we find ourselves in. More importantly, it has made me reconsider how we should see the events that surround us from a biblical point of view. I'm becoming more and more convinced that how the majority of Christians view the war on terror is actually not honoring to Scripture. So, I think I'm going to dedicate a few posts on writing some of my thoughts. I hope that I can get some feedback along the way.

First off, I've noticed the evangelical Christians tend to be some of the most hawkish people I know. We typically view the war on terror as the prosecution of justice on evil people - in fact, President Bush colors this struggle frequently in those terms. Personally, I have to admit a subtle satisfaction that sweeps over me every time I read about another terrorist captured or killed. The reality is that evangelical Christians (and most other Americans) see this as an Us against Them conflict with the Us being on the side of righteousness and freedom and the Them being on the side of evil and tyranny.

Does this perception of reality line up with the eternal reality we find in Scripture? If we were to pull back the curtain of eternity, would we see the angels of heaven lined up behind the free world and the demons of hell behind the terrorists? I'm not entirely convinced that this is what we would find.

The reality I think we would find is not so cut and dry. The truth is that in God's eyes all of humanity has rebelled against heaven and has set itself up as a rival power. This rebellion touches every human being on earth whether they call themselves Christian or Muslim, Terrorist or American. The sobering realization that I came to was that the evil in the heart of a terrorist that compells them to fly an airplane into a bulding is the same evil that exists in the heart of every person. I share the same rebellious heart as Osama bin Laden.

How should this change the way we view terrorists? First and foremost, I hope that it would give us humility knowing that in God's sight our sin and evil place us in the same rebellion as the most evil and hardened of terrorists. Secondly, it should move us to compassion - yes, I said compassion - for people who have hardened their hearts to the point where they find it necessary to blow themselves up. The truth of the matter is that Christ died for Osama just the same as He died for me.

I temper this claim with the conviction that we as a nation still have the duty to defend ourselves and to seek justice for those who do wrong. But, justice should not be pursued from the position of self-righteousness because we know that no one is righteous, not even one. And, we also have the duty to look long and hard into our own hearts to see where we too deserve justice for the wrongs and evils we have committed. Lastly, we as a people need to seek God in repentance knowing that it is by His grace alone we are forgiven.