Monday, February 2, 2009

What is God's opinion of Australia Army?

I have been reading 1 Kings lately and one thing you get a massive sense of is WAR. On almost ever page there some reference to a king going to war or a king being attacked by another king. This was a time of war, understandable, but that is a lot of war considering in 1 Kings alone there are 22 chapters. It continues on into 2 Kings as well. When King Solomon died he possessed one of the largest armies ever seen before as well as a massive slave labour force. Sure, he had a large kingdom that needed protection but one of God's commandments to David was not to possess a large army because if you trust in God he will protect you and defend you.
So while reading this book I suddenly began to think... what is God's opinion on Australia's Defense Force. In a report on the defense force website (http://www.defence.gov.au/minister/NelsonMintpl.cfm?CurrentId=5604) it states that "the Defence budget will grow from $12.6 billion in 2000-01 to $26.7 billion by 2015-16". $26.7 BILLION!!! That is a massive number.
Now don't get me wrong I understand that as a nation there should be focus on defense of one's home land. Sure got it. But $26.7 Billion??? On the save the children website that estimate that 11.6% of children in Australia live in poverty. For the moment forget about the children in Africa, this is 11.6% of children living in one of the wealthiest nations on earth.
God commissioned his people to care for each other especially those you needed extra care... in James 1:27 it states "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world". Is this what we are doing by having an army that will be worth over $25 Billion by 2015?
On the save the children website they state that $1 million dollars will feed 150 000 people.
Are we following God's request to love all his people to care for all his people?
Read 1 Kings 5-8 to just get a feel for how Solomon spent his money and how didn't care for his people by making them slaves.

1 comment:

  1. mmm the dillemma of trust!
    Do we as a nation mostly trust in God, but just in case that doesn't work. Lets have an army too?
    Or is this too simplistic?
    I dont think God is too keen on war, he didn't let David build the temple because he was a person who built his power through violence.
    But it's a tall ask to get an entire nation like australia to trust in God rather than the might of modern warfare.
    The army also does many essential great things that dont involve killing and violence.

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