Try winning wars the Salvos way
Dr Bruce Manners
Senior minister
Avondale College Seventh-day Adventist Church
Adolf Hitler once declared, “You can’t wage war with Salvation Army methods.” He’s wrong because it depends on what kind of war you’re waging.
In a dark warning to his generals on August 22, 1939—a few days before he invaded Poland—Hitler told them many things in the coming war would not be to their liking. He told them their role was to focus on their military duties and not interfere in the kind of things that might trouble them.
They soon realised what he meant as stories of SS massacres, particularly of Polish Jews, began to emerge. Hitler told his generals several times what they were about was “devil’s work.”
During the Second World War, Hitler used his SS forces to systematically kill somewhere between 11 and 14 million people, including six million Jews. He was an evil man fighting war in an evil way. He must have made the devil proud.
You certainly can’t fight that kind of war with Salvation Army methods, for the Salvos have a reputation of care for people, whatever nationality. They’re the ones people turn to when they’re in trouble and know they won’t be rejected. The Salvos are driven by a Christ-like compassion.
There are many different wars for good to be fought. There’s the war against poverty. The war against slavery. The war against child soldiers. The war against child abuse. The war against exploitation. The war against . . . .
These are wars worth fighting. Wars against evil. You can’t fight evil with evil for it can be overcome only with good. Darkness can be overcome only by light, not further darkness. It’s that simple.
What the world needs is more people willing to fight these kinds of wars with Salvation Army-type methods. Are you ready to fight the good fight?
Tags: Bruce Manners