Dear Parents,

Several of you have said that your children have asked about "What is war, or what is a holy war?"

Perhaps there are some ideas in this that may help:

War is conflict in our hearts that shows up in our actions. We "fight" in our hearts between what is wrong and what is right. We can become angry , which is okay. But what we do with our anger can be the problem. (James 4;1-4 has some ideas to explain this)

Anger can turn us to talk with one another in good ways to solve a problem, it can help us reach out to one another to solve a problem.

Or anger can lead us to words and actions that hurt one another. Then we are "at war" with one another. Sometimes we say we are fighting one another. If you and a brother or sister are fighting, or you and a friend are fighting, in some ways you are at war with one another. God wants us to talk about what the problem is and come to peace. In so far as we are able we are to live at peace with one another. (Hebrews 12:14)

The war that is going on now is between groups of people. They have not been able to talk their way to peace.

We hear the term "holy war." Osama Bin Laden and others say that this war is holy. That means that somehow it honors God, that God's name is being hurt, that God's people have been hurt, and so people must fight for God. That makes this fighting "holy."

In the past different religions have used this term "holy war" when they think that fighting somehow has God's purpose at heart.

Today though you will not hear many Christians call war "holy." God desires people to live in peace with him and one another. We might say a war becomes necessary because something has happened and people won't come and talk about what to do to make it right again. We are reluctant to war against people. We do not want people to be hurt and die, even our enemies. God even asks us to pray for our enemies.

But perhaps it is like a parent. If you and your brother or sister were fighting, your parents might like you try to work it out, to talk about it, to make peace again. But if you began to hurt one another, your parents would step in to stop it, there might be some discipline involved, some talking to bring peace. That is kind of the position our country is in right now.

Some of you are asking, "Have we done a bad thing?"

None of us is perfect. None of us acts rightly all the time. The Bible tells us we all sin and fall short of what God intends for us.

We do not want war. We are in a situation we do not want to be in. But it has reached a point in which someone has to say, "Stop the hurt you are doing," to some nations and people that keep fighting. In Psalm 46, there is a verse that says, "Be still and know that I am God." this "Be Still" really means "Stop fighting and know that I am God." God doesn't want nations fighting.

In the midst of a hard situation, we are trying to do the most good and the least hurt to others. We are trying reach those who are doing the hurt to stop them, but we are trying to help others who are in the midst of this war too. You will hear on the news some of the things we are trying to do that are good, like sending food to those that are hungry, like trying not to put bombs near people who aren't fighting. We will help the clean up when it is over too.

We cannot say that war honors God. War does not honor God. War is not holy. God is not honored by people hurting one another. God does not want people to live hurting one another, but sometimes war happens because there is sin and we are not able to talk together and deal with the desires that are at the heart of the fighting. Sometimes when a person or a group of people won't stop hurting others on their own, a person like a parent, or teacher or nations like ours and others have to step in and make them stop so we can live safely again.

God asks us to pray for our leaders: God says "Pray for those in authority, for those who lead, so that we can live lives that reflect God and his peace." In the midst of war, let us pray for leaders, for peace, even for our enemies.