What About Those Walls?
A Military Man & Christ-Follower's View Regarding Walls
As I observe the present day political battles, I have heard a lot about walls. One says, "I'm going to build a wall, and the Mexicans are going to pay for it." The other says, She doesn't believe in walls, and she believes in a border less society. If I quote her correctly I think I have heard her say, "We don't need to build walls. We need to build bridges." She also says, "Walls won't work." So it seems to me, as an independent voter, that we need to consider if walls are efficacious or not.
My Background:
I have been both a democrat, and I have been a republican. After, years of observing our political scene, I decided, as a Christ-Follower, that my allegiance is wrongly placed in any political party. In my humble opinion, it is a bit idolatrous to vote just because I am a democrat. So I cannot follow them. This is also true about following the republicans. I am, first and foremost, a Christ-Follower; therefore, I don't follow the donkey or the elephant. I follow the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, and who took away my sins. All of us need to be cautious about who we choose to follow. We will ALL stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and we will give account of our lives, and this includes how we choose to vote. If we don't vote, we have to give an account of this sin of omission as well. Check out 2 Corinthians 5:10.
Next I have a background as a trained combat medic, a medical laboratory specialist, was commissioned, and I received training in military strategy from Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base. Folks would call someone like me a "Mustang." That is I was a prior enlisted man and then an officer. I served on many Air Force bases around the northern hemisphere. I retired as a Chaplain, Lieutenant Colonel.
Additionally, I went through all the steps and met all the required boards to become fully ordained in the United Methodist Church. During non-active duty times, I served as a Senior Pastor in The United Methodist Church. As a part of that, I received an undergraduate degree and a graduate degree. My undergraduate degree gave me expert knowledge in world religions. I received graduate level training in Pastoral Care and Counseling and thousands of hours of continuing education in this area. Prior to retiring I was a Fellow in The College of Chaplains, a Clinical Member of ACPE, a Board Certified Chaplain, A Board Certified Pastoral Counselor and am presently a Presidential Member in AACC.
Regarding The Candidates
I will not spend my time here discussing the personalities of the Candidates. For now, I will leave that to someone else to do; however, I will discuss this issue from a place of some expertise in medicine, and much expertise in the military, from the perspective of a man of God who understands meaningful boundaries and the lack thereof. I will discuss it from the perspective of a family man.
Vital Areas Of Consideration
There are five areas of discussion:
- Medical Walls (Boundaries)
- Military Walls (Boundaries)
- Man of God's View of Walls (Boundaries in the Bible)
- Meaningful Walls (Boundaries In Relationships)
- My Home.
So that there is no misunderstanding, for me a wall is defined as a boundary with gates/ openings that exist for a specific purposes. These purposes will be discussed as the five areas of discussion are "unpacked."
Medical Walls
Today I sat down with a friend of mine who is a medical doctor and surgeon, and we discussed this very topic. He concurs that, in the medical arena, there are clearly walls/boundaries in the human body. And the body has the boundaries to protect the life giving internal organs. These let in needed things for the body to live. But they also stop other things from coming in. The most evident boundary that clearly works is the skin. If it is treated well,and functions well, it lets in vital nutrients, for example, from the sun. It lets in vitamins. It let's out sweat that cools us. If the skin is burned or damaged and let's the bugs from the outside world to come in, the human body will die.
The immune system is also a boundary setter. I could spend volumes discussing how this system is designed to clot the blood to stop blood from leaving the body, from leaving the blood walled in the body within the "walls" of veins and arteries. I could talk about how this system saves us from viruses or bacteria. It saves us from those things, outside the body that need to be kept out, and it reinforces the health of everything inside the body. I wish I had time to really get into how white cells are differentiated and sent out of the immune system to fight specific harmful things that try to get into the body. Needless to say, without this boundary producing system, we would not live very long. As I read this blog, what I am saying seems so really over simplified. You can research how this works on your own. Medically, we need boundaries, or the ability to wall off those things that would get into our lives that have the potential to be harmful. And we need this sytem to make the other systems productive and healthy.
Military Walls
I have served in the U.S. Military, active duty and reserve, enlisted and officer, from 1970 to 2010, I have seen our bases all over the world. They have one thing in common: They all have walls/boundaries/fences with gates, and those gates are carefully guarded. At one base, whose name I will not mention, not only does the base have this huge boundary, but there are multiple secure places on this same base where only certain people are allowed to go. These areas are also walled off. And within these areas we may even have a SCIF (Sensitive Compartmentalized Information Facility.) We have these to keep the information, the people, and all kinds of materials safe inside. We have them to make it possible for this base or post (city within local city) to fulfill their mission without intrusion. I served on the Commander's Battle Staff, and many times we went into a secure place that was walled in. Only those who were appropriately documented were allowed within. Also in the military, we have these barriers to be able to reach outside the gates and conduct the activities of the military. We have these walls to keep us safe inside. We also have them to keep predators out, and we use the gates to evaluate who has the right to enter the base. In war time these may get overrun, and when this happens it is horrific for all who are inside.
During the TET offensive, in 1968, multiple places were overrun, and even our typists had to get their weapons out and fight. We won the battle, but we had to push the enemy outside the walls. Walls, boundaries and gates are absolutely necessary for military operational reasons.
One more military illustration. We now have what we call an "Iron Dome." It protects us from nuclear weapons and other strategic missiles. It places a missile shield over us that will shoot down anything coming our way. It's an invisible wall of precise rocketeering. We know it works because we used it during Desert Shield and Desert Storm to protect Israel for SCUD missiles. We have no idea how many lives were saved by this invisible wall or barrier.
Man of God's View of Walls (Boundaries in the Bible)
In the Bible, after God separated humanity into nation states, with walls around their competing people, walls have served their purpose. It was God's design to do away with the borderless society at the tower of Babel, when God addressed what he saw as humanity going beyond what God wanted humanity to do. Ever since that time, God provided cities/towns and nations as He blessed with walls. If a nation's walls were taken down, it was a sign of God's displeasure. The impossible walls of Jericho had to be brought down, according to God's will. And they were brought down. After God Centuries later God gave Israel over to the hands of the Babylonians, and the walls of Jerusalem were torn down. God's blessing was given and the whole book of Nehemiah was written about how God used this man to restore the honor of the Jew, and so they rebuilt the walls. Those who fought against Nehemiah, and who were opposed to walls, were considered God's enemy. When Jesus was talking with his disciples in Matthew 24, they were bragging about the Temple and the magnificent walls. Jesus expressed God's displeasure with them and said the walls and the temple would be leveled to the grown. This happened in AD 70. In The Revelation of Jesus, The Holy City "The New Jerusalem" that is described as "Coming out of Heaven," has walls and gates. This is the ultimate of all cities. Given it's dimensions it could be compared to a huge nation. This is God's own city, and God chooses to put walls around it with gates. Biblically speaking this man of God sees walls as a "God thing."
Meaningful Walls: Healthy Relationships and Healthy Families.
What about relationships and families? I have provided Pastoral Care and Counseling for so many people that I have lost count of how many are related to boundaries or walls. When individuals have healthy interpersonal boundaries, where they connect with one another and disconnect in healthy ways, more than likely the people in that family are going to relatively sane, sober and well = healthy; however, when boundaries are violated by verbal abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, passive abuse and even spiritual abuse, then, individuals in the family -- and the family as a whole -- become toxic. Some are even ruined for the rest of their lives. Families need boundaries. Families need healthy independence and interdependence. But if some are simply dominant and the gates of their walls of protection are breached, life becomes only existence.
My Home
When I say "My Home," I mean anyone who reads this. I am talking about your home as well. Let me ask you about your home. Do you have a car? Do you have some other mode of transportation. Do you lock the door (a boundary) or turn of the key and put it in a safe place? When you go inside your home, do you close the door. Are their walls protecting you from the outside. Some reading this have a fence around their yard or portions of it. Why? It would be to keep people out that you don't want in. And if you want to allow someone in, you let them in. You do the same with the door of your house. How many of you still leave your house unlocked at night? Or do you secure yourself behind closed and locked doors? Some, here in the USA, also have alarm systems that are monitored. This is an invisible barrier to protect you. Many even post signs outside to warn intruders that the property is being monitored. We have a pool. When our grands could not swim we put up a fence around the pool. Why? We did so to protect our little ones from drowning. Even "The people's house" in Washington D.C. (The White House) has a fence around it and is monitored with the most sophisticated of "systems." I doubt very seriously if any home in the world is any more walled off. Why? To ensure the wellbeing of whomever is residing within it's walls.
So here is where this man of God and military man comes down on this issue. It is healthy, holy, smart and safe to secure the borders of The USA. This is sound medically, militarily, spiritually, relationally and from the perspective of keeping our nation's homes and families safe. I take no pot shots at either candidate. It's one of many issues that voting Christians or Christ-Followers need to examine. It is not one for anyone to denigrate either of the candidates. Nor should we demean one another for having a point of view. True Christ-Followers would do well to pray for our candidates and NOT slander either one. Slander and cursing is not the calling of God's children.
As far as I'm concerned: Enough Said
SoJourner
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