Today I'd like us to more into Merton's chapter called: "The Root of War Is Fear."
At the root of all war is fear: no so much the fear people have of one another as the fear they have of everything. It is not merely that they do not trust one another; they do not even trust themselves. If they are not sure when someone else may turn around and kill them, they are still less sure when they may turn around and kill themselves. They cannot trust anything, because they have ceased to believe in God.
To kill another is to claim the position of being God. It is making the decision (for what ever the reason may be) that my life is worth more than the other person. It may be because of my values...my religious belief...my nation of origin...my economic interests...my need to be better than others...or my thought that I am less...etc. I would agree with Merton that much of this sense of need to go to war because of all the reasons I noted here is tied to fear. Going to war and having to kill another person is part of the breaking of the first commandment - the commandment that is broken when any of the others are broken. When we kill another - and that is what war does -we have taken the position that we have the wisdom and power as to whether another person can live or not. This is also set off by the fear of having the other person want to do the same to us for maybe the very same reasons we would kill them. War has no good side to it for we have given up the image of who we are - God's own beloved children...not just some...but all of us.
Connection: Fear is not something that is readily caught when we are in the midst of it and we are being led by it. That is a simple task for today...spot it when we are in it.
Gracious God, you have told us that you are the Lord, our God, and no other power is needed within our lives. You will be our foundation for life and you will sustain us in all thing. Continue to encourage our faithfulness. Amen.
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