HOME FRONT

                                                   HOME FRONT

    We pay homage to our servicemen and women on Veterans Day, and rightly so. There really isn't any way to compensate them for disabling injuries or loss of life. We overlook some very important citizens on D-Day also, because they represent what we called the Home Front in world War II. These are the mothers, wives and children who remained at home while the soldiers were far away fighting in strange countries. For every soldier missing at home, there were many at home living a life of hope and fear.

     While we don't hear the term Home Front nowadays, we still have those people at home missing a son, daughter, husband or wife. Today there are many more women in military service than in World War II. The impact on families can be devastating. Having the servicemen and women away from home is bad enough, but there are other negative aspects today. You don't really understand the problems and heartaches these veterans and their families go through to sustain your freedom. I especially reflect tremendous ill feeling towards Americans who have been financially successful and renounced their citizenship. They made big bucks in the safety of our country while the soldiers put their life on the line. To me, these people are guilty of treason, not to mention they are cowards. Thank God we didn't have these greedy "citizens" during that war.

    I don't want to digress from my message subject, but I believe God is not smiling down at them. Some of these financial whizzes claim to be Christians. Folks, before you open your mouth to claim you're a believer in Jesus Christ, consider what, if anything, you've ever done according to His teaching. Even those on the Home Front sacrifice for all Americans and the free world. Now let's consider the continuing sacrifice and loss by those on the Home Front.

    Veterans during World War II didn't lose their homes because they
couldn't afford mortgage payments out of their meager pay. As recent as the 1950s, a G.I. received only $78 a month. The total was more if he was married, but it still was a pittance. Today, the banks pay no attention to the veterans' financial hardship because of service, and move in to foreclose, sometimes illegally. Veteran assistance is woefully slow, and homes are whisked away. Small businesses are allowed to fail. The congressmen and congresswomen seem paralyzed to do anything. Except, they can follow our mostly inept military leaders in cutting on-base services, family allowances and military pensions. What are the generals interested in? Women's hair styles, tattoos and other incidentals the enemy may not like.

    During the late 1950s and early 1960s, returning veterans were spit
on by civilians. Many of these vets were vets only because they were
drafted into service. Their lives were interrupted by losing at least two
years for a life threatening, poor pay job. Today it is even worse,  because a very small portion of the population has anything to do with the military. When soldiers come home with disabling stress, they face poor care and shunning by the public. Some care by the Veterans Administration is good, but some care is life threatening bad. I know this from personal experience. The major problem with management rests between the top and bottom. This is where middle management people take the easy way out. Get good pay, and only do the minimum to keep the money and benefits coming in. This is also the internal rot of many corporations. Like professional sports, when your team is a loser, you are fired only to be selected to manage or coach another team. There are good generals, but many received their stars by being a skilled politician. 

    The home front today is different than that of World War II because
our military leaders and congress people discovered a way to subvert
universal service (the draft). Today the military is taking advantage of
reservists and national guardsmen. These are people who either have
signed up to protect citizens within our national borders, or soldiers
who have already served in active duty. There are two reasons our 
leaders have done this: these are people already trained or experienced,
and is less costly. Money seems to rule everything in America except
consciences.

    The National Guard was created to serve citizens in the United States,
not on foreign soil. Many of these troops are vital parts of communities
and have families with children. Taking mom or dad away from the family to serve in a foreign country does absolutely nothing positive for America. What it does is prevent the expense of maintaining a regular army that was created to defend our country and to preserve freedom. It also removes the need for universal service, which excuses most Americans from ever having to serve our country. It also removes most Americans from pledging their very lives for others who choose not to actively support our freedom. Not everybody can serve in the military, but everybody does have the capacity to serve their country. Paying taxes is the easy way out. I appreciate the occasional "thank you for your service," but it is a VERY occasional salute. It does not carry over to spouses and children.

    Christians may argue that God does not condone war and we should
not want to kill other people. I never served with a soldier who wanted
to kill anyone. We serve to prevent killing. And, to those pacifists who
look down upon war and soldiers, there is plenty of scripture to define
God's directions about war. Going all the way back to the first book of
the Old Testament, God directed His people to war. In Joshua we are
introduced to the Commanding General of God's army. God's army may
be invisible to us, but that's only because we aren't high tech enough
to understand the spiritual world.

    The loss of a soldier causes never ending grief to the family and
presents all kinds of problems for those within the family circle. The
problems cover all aspects of life, not just the loss of a person. There
will continue to be a need for soldiers and armies until Christ returns.
Humans without a real commitment to Christ--even though they claim
to have faith--continue to wax worse and worse with greed and ego.
Money and power are their goals, and many use Christianity and the
church as a stepping stone to achieve their goal. Many American leaders have the same goal as leaders in other countries. Their explanation of freedom is a rigid set of rules and regulations to support their variety of freedom--a dictatorship. Note carefully these foreign leaders use religion to fuel their desire to rule. 

    Because of our development into impatient high tech people, we have lost the value of research. We tend to believe almost anything if the presenter knows what we prefer. This is bad enough in politics, but more troubling in the church. We have few church leaders, including pastors, who are willing to preach facts from scripture instead of just going along with the flow of pretending "faith" leaders. Satan uses these "big mouths" to inflame and divide people. Things never change because humanity doesn't change. Man wants to be better and different than others. The same applies in the church. Christ did not lay out a bunch of rules--He kept it simple. All the denominational rules, and division by skin color are man's ideas. If only the church would accurately teach the four gospels, the division in America would not exist. Then, maybe, Americans would not be at war with themselves and the home front wouldn't be necessary.

Rev. Walbear