xxi. 15. _The grievousness of war._
In our quiet sanctuary, so full of holy and peaceful memories, let us
think about war; the more deeply we do so, the more will the aptness
of the phrase which forms our text become apparent to us.
+I. The grievousness of war is seen in its causes.+ War is grievous
in its origin and in all the things that foster it. It has its origin
in the unholy lusts and pitiful mistakes of mankind (Jas. iv. 1).
These lusts and mistakes, what are they? 1. The lust for increased
possessions and for power (P. D., 143, 150). 2. The false glory with
which war has been invested. To steal and kill on a small scale is
infamous, but to do so on a large scale is heroic! The wholesale
butcher surrounds himself with pomp and pageantry that dazzle the eye
and enslave the mind (P. D., 3470, 3476). 3. Blindness to the real
fields on which true courage and heroism are manifested. The
Christian courage which can meet and overcome the assaults of
wickedness, which can turn aside the edge of scorn, and hurl back the
weapons of temptation; that can urge men through living martyrdoms
which do not keep time to music or song, which carries Moffat into
South Africa, &c.,--this is too ethereal for most men to discern or
admire. They have no suspicion of the moral victories that might be
theirs on the fields of humble service and self-sacrifice.
4. Insensibility to the worth of human souls. A suspicion of the
value of life would unnerve the warrior for his task; he could not
then, as he does now, regard men as mere food for powder.
+II. The grievousness of war is seen in its effects.+ These are
twofold:--1. _Physical._ "The grievousness of war" cannot be
exaggerated, if we look at it from this point of view alone.
Think--(1) of the physical and mental suffering that is caused by it
(P. D., 3468, 3469, 3472, 3476); (2) of the far-reaching and crushing
desolation caused by it (P. D., 3466); (3) of the frightful cost of
preparation for war; of the armed truce in which the nations of
Europe live. 2. _Moral._ These are still more terrible. (1.) War
brutalises those actually engaged in it (P. D., 3464). (2.) War makes
criminals by producing a state of want. (3.) War aggravates national
animosities, and leaves to unborn generations a legacy of hatred.
Every war sows the seeds of future conflict. (4.) War and preparation
for war check the progress of those agencies by which the misery of
our race would be abated, and its happiness indefinitely increased.
The cause of education, of mission, of the Gospel, languishes under
the blight of the war-spirit. The cost of a very few wars would
evangelise the world (P. D., 3476).
Let this meditation move us to action. 1. Let us exert our utmost
influence to bring it to pass that national power shall be wielded by
men who love peace. 2. Let us encourage everything that tends to
facilitate international intercourse (P. D., 3461). 3. Let us on
every possible occasion exalt moral qualities above mere physical
daring (P. D., 1798, 1810-1803). 4. Let us put forth every effort to
diffuse the principles of Christianity. The Gospel is the only true
and effectual peacemaker; only in Christ will men ever be lastingly
reconciled to each other.--_William Manning._