William Tecumseh Sherman once said, “War is hell.” Yet, a pastor friend said to me, “War is not hell. Hell is a place where certain people deserve to be, but war is a place where innocent women and children are killed. And they don’t deserve that.”

No doubt war is horrible. We see more and more of it every day, and it’s something no sane person ever wants. Yet many people are asking, “Is war ever right?”

Jesus teaches us to love our enemies and to seek to be peacemakers. Certainly, every Christian should. God’s Word teaches that God has ordained government to administer justice, to defend and protect the citizens, and to punish evil. How do we reconcile what seems to be contradictory teaching in God’s Word? Jesus teaches us about the attitude of the individual and, later in God’s Word, we learn about the role of government.

So let us pray for our government leaders and military personnel, as well as for those of our allies, to protect and defend its citizens, to administer justice and to punish evil effectively.