WHAT IN THE WORLD

Following the report of the “Iraq Study Group” headed by prominent former administrative and legislative figures, news began to “leak” out that President Bush was going to change strategies in Iraq. No one doubts that the disastrous losses of the President’s party at the polls in November led directly to these proposed changes.

Now news reports flood the airwaves: “Bush will increase troop levels temporarily.” Others speculate that he will announce modest troop reductions. A virtual parade of field and general grade officers, mostly retired, is being quizzed by the various media about the advisability of what is guessed to be Bush’s new “strategy.” No one knows. Everyone awaits the President’s announcement.

Meanwhile, every day our brave soldiers and marines are ordered out to the streets in Iraq’s cities. Three to four per day, on average, are blown to bits and are shipped home in body bags in coffins. Dozens of others are severely wounded by snipers’ bullets, burns from roadside explosives, have severed limbs, and on and on it goes. To what purpose?

That we can never win this conflict militarily, everyone agrees. So why do we stay? “To make America safe,” in the standard answer. This is exactly the answer our government gave throughout the Vietnam War. That is, until it was realized we couldn’t win militarily. Then what did we do? We left! And what happened? We established standard trading policies with the “new” Vietnam.

Our most precious national commodity, our dear young people, is being squandered, every day in this war that is destined to go down in history as the gravest mistake any American president ever made. Let’s do what we did in Vietnam, Lebanon, and Somalia: leave! National pride! Is it worth one more gallant soldier or marine?

For the past two weeks it dominated every news report. At first, I assumed the three missing climbers, trapped on Mt. Hood, had been conducting research, taking test samples or performing some other scientific exercise. No, I found, Kelly James, Brian Hall and Jerry Cooke, were “recreational climbers.” They were, as a family spokesperson later related, “pursuing their passion.”

Sunday, December 10th brought a frightening cell phone call from James. For some reason he was hunkered in a snow cave and the others had “gone for help.” His call sent a small army of searchers into action.

Over the next ten days with law-enforcement people in charge, volunteer climbing experts with skis and snowshoes put their lives on the line to scour the mountain.. C-130 aircraft conducted flights around the clock with sensing devices. Helicopters large and small flew in to search. The U.S. Army sent a cadre of climbers. Worsening weather conditions hampered their efforts. The anxious families, professing Christian faith, prayed for their beloved men. A watching world tuned in to hourly news reports.

Sadly, rescue was not to be. The body of Kelly James, frozen to death, cell phone on and drained of power, still at his side, was found in a makeshift snow cave. The others, thought to have fallen to their death, may never be found. Photos, in a camera on James revealed that the men had gambled with the elements and were “traveling light” for a “quick trip” to the top.

The Bible calls the insignificant achievements of this world a “corruptible crown.” Heartbreaking though it is, the best that can be said of these dear men is that “they died doing what they loved to do. To compound it all, taxpayers of the State of Oregon get the bill for the ill-fated rescue, at least $100,000! “Oh mighty Christ,” my heart cries, “I want to live and die for more than fun.” Don’t you?

WHAT IN THE WORLD?

Again this week, as I was crossing the channels on our living room television, I came upon a “How to do It” program dealing with parenting. Leaving it on for about two minutes, this is what I saw.

The scene looked in upon a middle-class home in the childrens bedroom area. The father and mother were professional people, at home from their jobs, “at last,” and ready now to bed the children down for the night.

In the two minutes I watched this pitiful scene there was more upset in that home than my wife and I ever had, total , in putting out children to rest in all our years of parenting.

The mother begged, chasing the children around the room while the father took turn about throwing them into bed threatening them not to get up “again.” They didn’t get up “again,” they got up many times, in full disregard to the parents’”orders.”

I could not imagine being a child “raised” in such utter chaos. Probably some “doctor” will “diagnose” these children with any one of a number of imaginary illnesses assigned to boys and girls whose misfortune it is to be reared in homes devoid of structure, tough love and character-building attributes. My dad would have “cured” those childrens “problems” the first hour he had charge of them. Thanks Dad!

The National aviation and Space Administration (NASA) announce this week that by the year 2018 we will have a permanent space camp on the moon.

To start with they are projecting 25 billion dollars in expense. The camp is to be built at the moons south pole “where there is plenty of sun for power” and maybe ice that can be melted for the sake of future astronauts use there.

The stated purpose is to “explore the history of the earth and the moon.” The reported theory is that the “moon was once a chunk of the earth.”

Meanwhile the daily starvation of hundreds of thousands in Africa, especially Sudan, Chad and other central African nations goes on.

Suggestion: Distribute specially marked copies of the Bible to each leader at NASA highlighting Genesis 1:16 and Psalm 19:2. Then take your tax dollars and invest them in the lives of those starving people for whom Jesus died!

It is amazing that such scant attention is being paid to the cost of the war in Iraq at present. In terms of money the costs have now risen above the total cost of the Vietnam War. Todays American babies and toddlers will be paying this bill for many years to come.

But, even more heartbreaking is the cost in American manpower. The death toll is now just short of 2,900, since the war began over 3-1/2 years ago. More than 21,000 have been wounded. Of this number over 9,000 have some form of permanent disability.

God holds up the goal for us the living, as believers, of “a quiet and peaceable life” and to maintain an ongoing attitude of prayer for those in governmental authority (I Timothy 2:1-2).

A combat zone requires great bravery on the part of those conducting combat operations. Many of our dear soldiers and marines do not have a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus. What happens to them should matter a great deal to us.

Whether or not our governmental leaders believe they need prayer is beside the point. They do! God says so! Many of them do not profess the Lord and others who do are confused. Lets do our Christian duty in these dark days.