It has always amazed me how quickly our world can change. Not long ago the only wars we had to fight in America were on our computers. I once purchased a jet fighter simulation game. The game was based on a time in the future and it made you a NATO fighter pilot. Your job was global peacekeeping. 

When I opened the box the game came in I was surprised to find a T-shirt inside. On the back of the shirt was a picture of a futuristic looking jet aircraft. Above the picture, in beg red letters, were the words, “Global Peace through Deadly Force.” 

There’s no way I would every wear that shirt in public on purpose. But, wouldn’t you know, one day it happened by accident. My wife and I sometimes walk together after work. In the fall, when the days are shorter, she brings my walking cloths to the office so we can have more time to walk before it gets dark. And, sure enough, the other day she brought that T-shirt. I had no choice but to wear it. 

As we were walking, I noticed the passenger in a vehicle passing by us was laughing. I remembered the shirt I was wearing. I had to laugh a little too. Here was the religion columnist for the local newspaper walking down the road wearing a shirt advocating “Global Peace through Deadly Force.” 

Then my mind went to NATO’s new war against international terrorism. And I realized that the time had arrived when the words on the shirt were not out of place anymore. But this time we’re not talking about a computer simulation of deadly force– we’re talking about the real thing. 

As I write this column, it’s being reported that the ground war in Afghanistan has begun with the insertion of small teams of American Special Forces. 

An EC-130 referred to as “Commando Solo”, a so-called psychological aircraft, will be passing over the areas of our military operations broadcasting, “Attention! People of Afghanistan, United States forces will be moving through your area. We are here for Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda and those who protect him.” 

Evidently, we want the people of Afghanistan to know that they’re not our real enemy. Our enemy is a global extremist network of terrorists that are thought to have cells in as many as 60 countries – including the United States of America. 

It appears that our risks in this new kind of war may be high. It has been reported that Air Force General Richard B. Myers recently said, “I firmly believe that this is the most important task that the U.S. military has been handed since the Second World War. And what’s at stake here is no less than our freedom to exist as an American people.” 

Yes, this isn’t a computer game we are playing this time. And now global peace may actually depend on our successful use of deadly force. 

The way I see it, it’s time for us to consider the dangerous road now before us. It’s time for us to pray for the safety of our sons and daughters and think again about pleasing the God who alone can answer our prayers. 

In the Battle of Midway our Pacific Fleet was badly outnumbered. When the Japanese reconnaissance aircraft spotted our carriers, for some reason the planes radio failed to work. Had that radio worked, it would have changed the course of the war. 

It’s a mistake to think that our strength is only in our military. Many important battles in our past would have been lost without God’s unseen hand. 

My point is, we Americans had better get our spiritual house in order. 

Because, this time, our war is not a game.