What does it take to be a good soldier
What does it take to be a good soldier?
1. He must be able to endure hardship without turning back.
The first thing that we do to new recruits is to put them through boot camp. We purposefully push them beyond their limits of endurance. What keeps people focused during this time? It is the desire to become a soldier. On the one hand we recruit them and then we try to disqualify them? Is that what we are doing? It would be better never to become a soldier than to become one and to fail the ultimate test. That would be a person’s willingness to give their very life for the Savior. If they cannot endure through the course of life then they would never really be called a soldier. What good is a soldier who will not give his/her life? What good is the person who opts for surrender in order to save their own life while jeopardizing the lives of those who we fight for?
How do we prepare people for hardship without pain or discomfort?
- Safety Nets
- Physical Conditioning
- Emotional Conditioning
- Simulation
- Combat Training
- Survival Training
There’s never been a soldier in this world who has been comfortable in conflict.
There is always hope in this world as long as there is breath. There is no more conflict beyond this world.
The pain that you submit yourself to lessens the pain that you have no control over. There are folks who never submit themselves to anything that exists beyond there comfort zone. That notion in itself is a nauseating one. When is the last time that you agreed to do something that took you out of your comfort zone? Do you think that people who say “Yes” find it easier than you do?
Physical exhaustion
Emotional exhaustion
Somewhere there has to be a change in thinking. It has to move away from wanting to escape our current set of circumstances to learning how to use every disadvantage to my advantage. To ruling your body beyond pain. You must learn to rule over the physical and the emotional. To see spiritual reality. There are so many times when I am tempted to say things that I would live to regret and times when I sacrifice my sense of dignity in order to prevent furhter complicating situations that God will have to handle on his own. Will my response benefit or hurt other things around me?
2. He must want to please his commanding officer.
2Samuel 23:8 These are the names of David's mighty men:
Josheb-Basshebeth, a Tahkemonite, was chief of the Three; he raised his spear against eight hundred men, whom he killed in one encounter.
9 Next to him was Eleazar son of Dodai the Ahohite. As one of the three mighty men, he was with David when they taunted the Philistines gathered at Pas Dammim for battle. Then the men of Israel retreated, [10] but he stood his ground and struck down the Philistines till his hand grew tired and froze to the sword. The LORD brought about a great victory that day. The troops returned to Eleazar, but only to strip the dead.
11 Next to him was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. When the Philistines banded together at a place where there was a field full of lentils, Israel's troops fled from them. [12] But Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field. He defended it and struck the Philistines down, and the LORD brought about a great victory.
13 During harvest time, three of the thirty chief men came down to David at the cave of Adullam, while a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. [14] At that time David was in the stronghold, and the Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem. [15] David longed for water and said, "Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!" [16] So the three mighty men broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out before the LORD. [17] "Far be it from me, O LORD, to do this!" he said. "Is it not the blood of men who went at the risk of their lives?" And David would not drink it.
Such were the exploits of the three mighty men.
Have you ever done anything that put yourself at risk just to please the commanding officer. There are times when we do foolhardy things in our lives just because we want to please God. They make no sense whatsoever from a lateral perspective. However, from a vertical perspective they say something loud and clear. They say “I love you” to God.
Do you think every so often that we could stand a little more of this? I do.
Has God been asking you lately or even hinting about His pleasure? David just mentioned something that he wanted and that w as all that it took to set the Three off.
o He has been speaking to you lately about giving. What will you do this week to make it different than it has been any other time? Get tithing envelopes. Cut your spending so that you can give without noticing the difference. What do you think that you could do without and you’d be better off for it? How about giving something like that to God. Say “smoking”? Suppose you quit again. Give half of what you would have spent to God and pocket the rest. It would please God and you’d increase your chances of living longer.
o Get more involved. Come to Sunday School if you are busier during the week. You’re going to be here anyway. It’s one hour longer. You’ll get to know some more of our folk and the church will seem friendlier. You know, we aren’t perfect but we are a great church. Unless you do something different than you are now doing you’ll get results that are no different.
o Want to witness to someone – to have the chance to speak to someone of their faith? Carry this little booklet. Put it in your shirt pocket or on your desk where people can see it. Decide the questions that you want to have people ask and then provoke them to ask those questions.
o Lead a small group – bring the church to you. Incorporate your normal social life into a small group that meets within your home and provides a place of love and acceptance for others. Can’t lead a small group – Oh yes you can. Don’t have all the answers to the imagined questions – no one does. Try this honest answer “I don’t know.”
3. He must keep himself from being involved in civilian affairs.
To be woven into the fabric of human affairs. The concept of “serving God” means to be at his disposal. To call you to do whatever he pleases. Is he free today to ask anything of you? Could you say to him, “Anything you ask Lord?” How can we expect to find reality in Christian living if reality for us is defined by our circumstances.
For example: God wants me to leave my vocation and to go into the ministry. Every soldier of Christ needs to be ready to respond to that call. Because of our entanglements we are not free to do that. We have bills to pay, houses to sell, children to raise, property to care for. Remember the parable?
Luke 9:57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." 58 Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." 59 He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." 60 Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." 61 Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." 62 Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
What do you do when you are no longer available to God?
- start today to extricate yourself. Back away from certain commitments.
- gain a clear understanding of the chains that bind you.
- develop a plan
General George Patton was a man who believed strongly that a well disciplined soldier would not only win the war, but would reach new heights of achievement. He said that to be a good soldier, a man must have discipline, self respect, pride in his unit and in his country, a high sense of duty and obligation to his comrades and his superiors, and self confidence born of demonstrated ability.
When the great day of battle comes, remember your training, and remember above all that speed and vigor of attack are the sure roads to success. And you must succeed, for to retreat is as cowardly as it is fatal.
Americans do not "surrender!"
It was the only time throughout World War II that Patton used the word, "surrender" in any of his orders to his troops.
Someone once asked me, "if you could be any person in the world, who would it be?" To which I responded without hesitation, "my eleven-year-old son."
My boy's life is one where the less pleasant elements of reality rarely intrude. His eyes unfocused, his mouth emitting sound effects, he drifts around in serene oblivion, almost never concerned about anything.
Last Saturday I interrupted his reverie and asked him to check to see if the mail had arrived. He responded agreeably enough, though it took several reminders before he actually was out the door. I went to the window to observe his progress. He made a strong start, striding purposefully toward the mailbox at the end of our driveway. Then something caught his eye and he stopped, frowning. He bent over and picked it up: a stick. It fit into his hand like a Colt pistol, and he swiveled, eyeing the trees for enemies. He spotted a couple and dove for cover, firing as he rolled. Airplanes swooped down and he switched to ground-to-air mode, jubilating when the missiles hit their targets. He spoke into his radio and did something to his forehead, probably putting on his night vision
goggles. I lost sight of him as he snaked around the corner of the house.
Half an hour later he tromped in, exuberant over his military victory. I stopped him in the hallway. "Did you get the mail?"
He stared at me blankly, and I wondered whether he even knew who I was.
"You were going out to get the mail," I reminded him.
His focus cleared. "Oh, yeah."
"Did you get it?"
His expression indicated he wasn't sure.
"Why don't you try again," I suggested.
Back out the door. I winced as he glanced at a tree branch, but he didn't appear tempted. His eyes acquired radar lock on the mailbox, and I sighed
in relief.
Lying next to the mailbox was a football which had drifted there at the end of a neighborhood game a few weeks ago. He scooped the ball up in his arms
and swerved, dodging tackles. Touchdown! I put my hands on my hips and watched him toss the ball into the air, calling for a fair catch. First down. He took the ball, fading back, out of the pocket and in trouble. I shook my head as I was treated to the spectacle of my son sacking himself for an eight-yard loss. He jumped up and shook his finger, urging his blockers to stop the blitz. They seemed to heed his admonitions on the next play he rolled left and threw right, a fantastic pass which found him wide open thirty yards downfield. He trotted into the end zone and gave the crowd a mile-high salute.
When I checked back at half-time to see who was winning, mankind was on the brink. The football was jammed up inside his shirt, and he was struggling
forward on his knees, looking like a soldier crawling through the desert. He had pulled the lawn mower out of the garage, and as he fell toward it, gasping, he pulled the sacred pigskin from his shirt and, with the last reserves of his strength, touched it to the engine. He died, but civilization was saved by his heroic efforts.
No word on whether, with this triumph, mail would be delivered.
I met him at the door, pierced through his fog, and asked him to get the mail. He agreed in such as fashion as to indicate this was the first he'd heard of the subject. There was a skip in his step as he headed down the driveway, and he was making so much progress so quickly I felt my hopes growing, particularly when he reached out and actually touched the mailbox.
Alas, he was only stopping to talk to it. Conferring in low tones, he nodded, squinting into the distance. He raised the mail flag, igniting the retrorockets strapped to his back. He throttled to full power and then dropped the flag, firing off into space with his arms outstretched like Superman.
He was nowhere in sight when, half an hour later, I went out to get the mail.
Bruce Cameron - Cameron Column
I love thy church, O God;
Her walls before me stand;
But please excuse my absence, Lord;
This bed is simply grand!
A charge to keep I have;
A God to glorify;
But Lord, don't ask for cash from me;
The glory comes to high.
Am I a soldier of the cross,
A follower of the Lamb?
Yes! Though I seldom pray or pay,
I still insist I am.
Must Jesus bear the cross alone,
And all the world go free?
No! Others, Lord, should do their part,
But please don't count on me.
Praise God from who all blessings flow;
Praise him, all creatures here below!
Oh, loud my hymns of praise I bring,
Because It doesn't cost to sing!
See: Rev 3:15-16
These are the times that try men's souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph.
n Thomas Paine, The Crisis -- December 1776
Money can buy a bed but not sleep, a hammer but not a carpenter, "things" but not friends, a toy but not a child's happiness, a pen and paper but not an author, a pencil but not an idea, a house but not a home, an agreement but not peace, paints but not an artist, eyeglasses but not eyesight, a chair but not rest, a computer but not wisdom, a school but not students, death but not life, a flag but not patriotism, a gun but not a soldier, a book but not knowledge, a machine but not a skill, a desk but not a teacher, a name but not a man, a church but not a religion,, an altar but not salvation, and a cross but not a savior.
n Ellen Meisberger
It is told that in the First World War there was a young French soldier who was seriously wounded. His arm was so badly smashed that it had to be amputated. He was a magnificent specimen of young manhood, and the surgeon was grieved that he must go through life maimed. So he waited beside his bedside to tell him the bad news when he recovered consciousness. When the lad's eyes opened, the surgeon said to him: "I am sorry to tell you that you have lost your arm." "Sir," said the lad, "I did not lose it; I gave it -- for France."
Jesus was not helplessly caught up in a mesh of circumstances from which he could not break free. Apart from any divine power he might have called in, it is quite clear that to the end he could have turned back and saved his life. He did not lose his life; he gave it. The Cross was not thrust upon him; he willingly accepted it -- for us.
n William Barclay, Gospel of John
A bunch of recruits were having a written examination, and when one of them was asked why he wasn't working, he replied, "Sir, I have neither paper nor pencil."
"Well!" exclaimed the instructor, "what would you think of a soldier who went into battle with neither rifle nor ammunition?"
The recruit thought for a moment, and then answered, "I'd think he was an officer, sir.":
Unfortunately, too many Christians today think they are officers" in God's army and have no need of the Spirit's weapons.
Don't underestimate the enemy!
See: Rom 13:12-14; Eph 6:11-20; 1 Pet 5:8-11
Chuck Colson, ex-Marine captain and former confidant of the President of the United States, was once described as "tough, wily, nasty, and tenaciously loyal to Richard Nixon" by Time magazine. Colson's conversion and subsequent announcement of his faith in Christ jarred Washington. There was laughter from some, bewilderment from a few, and suspicion on the part of many. But it proved to be real. The middle-aged "hatchet man" was genuinely born again, and as a result, the Spirit of God enabled him to do soul surgery on himself. Before long, he was forced to face the truth. Was he innocent of all the charges brought against him--or many of those charges? As he spoke to a group of people at a prayer breakfast, he concluded his talk with:
"No one else seemed to have noticed my slip. There was nothing about it in the press. But the words 'many of the charges' throbbed with the pulse of the jet engines flying me back to Washington. Was it a Freudian slip? Or was it God using my voice? 'Many, but not all the charges, Chuck.'
My own words had clinched it. My conversion would remain incomplete so long as I was a criminal defendant, tangled in the Watergate quagmire. I had to put the past behind me completely. If it meant going to prison, so be it!
In his book, The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote of what he called the Great Divide: 'The first step which follows Christ's call cuts the disciple off from his previous existence. The call to follow at once produces a new situation. To stay in the old situation makes discipleship impossible.'
It had all looked so simple once, just getting in tune with God, finding out who Christ was and believing in Him. But whether I was ready for discipleship or not, here I was and there was no turning back."
n Born Again, by Chuck Colson
You are but a poor soldier of Christ if you think you can overcome without fighting, and suppose you can have the crown without the conflict.
Saint John Chrysostom (C. 347-407)
The best soldier is not warlike; the best fighter is never angry; the best conqueror takes no part in war.
Lao-Tse (C. 604-C. 531 B.C.)
A certain band of warlike knights had been exceedingly victorious in all their conflicts. They were men of valor and of indomitable courage and had subdued province after province for their king. But all of a sudden they said in the council chamber, "We have at our head a most valiant warrior. Would it not be better if, leaving a few such as he to go out to the fight, the mere men-at-arms, who make up the ordinary ranks, were to rest at home? We should be much more at our ease, our horses would not so often be covered with foam, nor our armor be bruised. Many would enjoy abundant leisure, and great things would be done by the valiant few."
Now, the foremost champions, with fear and trembling, undertook the task and went to the conflict, and they fought well, as the rolls of fame can testify. But still, from the very hour in which that scheme was planned and carried out, no city was taken, no province was conquered. Then the champion spoke out, saying, "How did you think that a few men could do the work of all the thousands? When you all went to the fight, and every man took his share, we dashed upon the foe like an avalanche and crushed him beneath our feet."
If we, as Christians, are to subdue the earth, every one of us must join in the fight. We must not exempt a single soldier of the cross, neither man nor woman, rich nor poor, but each must fight for the Lord Jesus according to his or her ability, that his kingdom may come, and that his will may be done in earth even as it is in heaven. We shall see great things when all agree to this and put it in practice.
n Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Quotable Spurgeon, (Wheaton: Harold Shaw Publishers, Inc, 1990)
There is an old Greek story of a soldier under Antigonus who had an extremely painful disease that was likely to bring him soon to the grave. This soldier was always first in the charge, rushing into the hottest part of the fray, as the bravest of the brave. His pain prompted him to fight, that he might forget it; and he was not afraid of death, because he knew that in any case he had not long to live. Antigonus greatly admired the valor of his soldier, and discovered his malady and had him cured by one of the most eminent physicians of the day. But from that moment the warrior was absent from the front of the battle. Now he sought his ease; for, as he remarked to his companions, he had something worth living for--health, home, family, and other comforts, and he would not risk his life now as he had before.
So, when our troubles are many we are often by grace made courageous in serving our God. We feel that we have nothing to live for in this world, and we are driven, by hope of the world to come, to exhibit zeal, self-denial, and industry. But how often is it otherwise in better times! For then the joys and pleasures of this world make it hard for us to remember the world to come, and we sink into inglorious ease.
-- Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Quotable Spurgeon, (Wheaton: Harold Shaw Publishers, Inc, 1990)