Was Jesus crazy? He said people “must deny themselves and take up their cross,” not “defend themselves and take up their weapon.” Many people are willing to die trying to defend themselves. Few are willing to die in order to love their enemy.

Death is a land with no countries. Nationalism means nothing to the dead. Eternity flies no human flag, yet damaged national pride is quick to talk of war.

With no view of eternity, violent defense can be seen as necessary for survival. But Jesus’ resurrection says people survive death. The world needs to weaponize love–to assault people with kindness and compassion.

War is unbelief. If people truly believed that they would survive after being killed, they wouldn’t be so quick to try to kill for their survival.

The world’s arsenal of love languishes from neglect. Weapons can be used to kill people, but they can never kill the hate in someone’s heart. Only love can do that! War won’t work without people pulling triggers.

Massive, nonviolent uprisings are more effective at overcoming injustice than warfare is, but bombs appeal more to our pride. To celebrate war is to take pride in cruelty and brutality–to glory in death and destruction.

War is the enemy of mankind. To fight war with violence is to perpetuate it. I want to pen words to pin the sword to the ground. Sometimes I think that the most censored, resisted, and hated words in the world are those written against war.

War lies and lines
Its victims’ headstones
In rows to say:
“Here lies . . . “

War is based on brutal subjugation, not on compassionate communication. Hell’s war-darkness is no one’s friend. It screams with the shrieking sound of violence. War aligns the dominoes of death and makes them fall, one shoving another, on all in their path. War’s weapons make war, not peace.

We should war against hate, not against the people who choose to hate. The best weapon against hate is radical, courageous love. Physical weapons can kill an enemy’s body, but courageously wielding invisible weapons of the heart can destroy an enemy’s hatred.

In 1959, the United Nations statue, “Let Us Beat Swords Into Plowshares,” was given by the USSR. 63 years later, old Soviet tanks are invading Ukraine. War is an acid that hurts everyone it touches.

As a small boy, I used to cry and ask, “Why is there war?” As Russia invades Ukraine, I’m doing it again. Now, while the world is being actively threatened with nuclear war, it doesn’t make sense to hold on to bitterness against anyone.