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| The Soldier by Cadi Nobles |
| I’ve had friends in every branch of the Armed Forces. I’ve watched them “sign up and ship out” for basic training. It always interests me to see how different they are when they return home on leave just a few weeks later. It never fails; they are more sober, quieter, more respectful, and all around more mature. It is as though they’ve aged 10 years in just a few weeks. The obvious reason for this change is the discipline and structure that a military life demands. They are different because they have been given a new set of rules to live by and to fit within that framework, they must change their attitude and lifestyle. In this way, a soldier in the military and a soldier in the army of God share some interesting similarities. Any “new recruit” for Christ will go through a stage of “basic training.” In the first weeks and months after he is saved, there is a time of intensive Bible study and training. Going to the “elders” in the Lord for instruction and advice, our new recruit will find that being a Christian encompasses much more than he ever imagined. In the same way that being a soldier is more than shaving your head and wearing a uniform, being a Christian is more than going to church and owning a Bible. Things are different, and how the recruit responds to this early training is a good indicator of how his life as a Christian will progress. If he is willing to adapt his lifestyle to the standards laid out in the Bible, things will go relatively smooth for our young soldier. But, if he resents every change and fights every new rule, there will be much hurt and sorrow in store. I’m sure you’ve met a soldier that never quite adjusted to military life. Perhaps their military career was only two or four years, but twenty years later they are still complaining about it. “Basic training was too tough. My drill instructors were demons. The worst years of my life.” These are soldiers that few like to speak of, but they are real. They are the ones that failed the military experience. Perhaps they passed the initial basic training, but overall their mission was a failure. They didn’t become better citizens or better soldiers, they just got bitter. Sadly, there are Christians that fit this description quite well. Even after accomplishing all the training and studying, they allow their victory to be tapped by an old enemy; bitterness. Paul said to take heed, “lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you” (Heb.12:15). It is so easy to give place to bitterness. First, we began to feel sorry for ourselves for one reason or another. Perhaps we don’t have the nicest car or didn’t get that promotion at work. Way in the back of our minds a tiny thought is planted. Being a Christian sure didn’t help this time. It is small and we wouldn’t dare say it out loud, but out of self-pity we allow the thought to stay there. After all, we “deserve” that much. A little later, something else happens that shakes our tree a little more. Maybe this time finances get low or the car breaks down. Because we didn’t get rid of it, that seed of a thought springs up again, “Being a Christian sure didn’t help me this time.” Now the thought is not so hidden, and a close friend may sense our bitterness. Since we live in a fallen world some major event will eventually happen. A terrible accident or the death of a loved one. This time the seed that has been watered by self-pity will spring up and find it’s way into every thing we do and say. In just a short time we have become an old bitter soldier. Our brothers and sisters avoid us and we lose the “joy of the Lord” that is “our strength.” In my lifetime, I have seen and experienced many sad events. I’ve lost loved ones, and felt the sting of genuine disappointment. But in all that, I don’t believe that I have witnessed any sadder scene than the image of a weathered solider, that has spent years fighting valiantly for the cause of Christ, to become one of these “wasted warriors.” Their glory is tarnished, the medals of honor they refuse to bear, and the respect of the “new recruits” is lost forever. So, what is the lesson of the bitter soldier? As they sit, arms folded, what silent message do they preach? It is, that Satan will attempt to destroy our relationship with God at every point along life’s journey. There is never a place along the trail where we become so “deep” that we no longer have to keep a wary eye out for the thief that stays lurking in the shadows attempting to steal our crown. You can indeed win the battle, but lose the war. |
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