Essential
Prisoners
10/21/13
Warfare
has always been with the human race. As far back as we can read war
has touched so many lives within that period of time and even today that trend
continues. All aspects of war are horrendous no matter which side claims
to be right or even wins the war. Taking prisoners is a vital part
of warfare and the amount of prisoners and the conditions in which they serve
their captors plays an important part in the overall plan of an
enemy. Our lives are such prisoners and we need to understand just
how important this concept and knowledge is to the freedom that we can obtain.
Wars
always are fought with campaigns in which vast amounts of land are used by at
least two opposing sides and square off against each other to see who wins the
fighting for that day. These battles can sometimes be a total
victory within a few short hours or they can drag out for days or weeks at a
time. In the ancient times the number of men fighting each campaign
or battle was significantly fewer than the modern battles that are
fought. This is not surprising since the methods of troop transport
were much simpler and manual than today, plus the amount of available men
within a certain society was less as well. Yet, societies and
nations continued their efforts to conquer each other and as a result many men,
women and children were killed for these efforts.
In
many occasions prisoners would be taken after the completion of a campaign or
battle. It was not uncommon for Rome to triumphantly parade their
prisoners to the masses when they returned from battle. Many
souvenirs were brought back from these battles and varied greatly in number and
specificity. The captured generals and rulers were often put to
death as a sign of final humiliation so that the newly captive prisoners fully
understood that they were no longer considered a portion of their home
identity. As time progressed the treatment of prisoners of war
improved but in other types of captivity the exchange between freedom and
prisoner lifestyle stayed the same or even regressed exponentially.
Whatever
the war we choose to study or society that promotes captivity we can always
find common themes within the stories of why prisoners were
taken. During war the process of taking soldiers into prison camps
serves as a demoralization of the fighting troops that are still able to
fight. It does not take too long for information to travel through
the ranks of fighting men and women and one can include societies in this type
of information transfer if needed. The idea that soldiers or groups
of people have been taken into captivity gets the person or people who have not
been taken thinking about the possibilities of themselves losing their freedom,
and what would become of their families if they were not around any
longer. This type of thought pattern spreads like wildfire and most
of the time will cause some type of thought of capitulation from the soldier or
society. We have witnessed this scene over and over throughout
history and as long as humans are alive and have the freedom of choice, this
scenario will not change much.
A
good example of this is when the German Army surrendered approximately 280,000
men after the Battle of the Rhineland was over. Over a ¼ million men gave
up their fighting abilities and entered into prisoner of war
status. Now, stop and think for a moment as to what this type of
news would do to another German soldier or fighting unit when they heard about
this event. Would you be willing to change your status in order to
hope that your captors would be lenient on you for the actions of your past or
current standing? Do you grasp the
concept of what prisoners and their publication to the enemy could render
towards the war effort? Place yourself
into the spiritual confluences of this scene when it comes to our eternal
creation and the true meaning of our existence upon this earth.
It
is difficult for any of us to comprehend that we would ever voluntarily
surrender our lives to another group that might have the idea of ending our
existence without allowing us to continue to fight for our
freedom. But in order for us to fight back and to maintain our
freedom, we must understand who the enemy is and what their job is that
encourages their forces to fight against us. Many of us know that
certain human cultures have enemies and these cultures understand that it is
impossible to let down their defenses and believe that their enemy will not
attack. However, when they do not have the ability to see who their
enemy is and what the tactics are that will be used against them, they are
sitting ducks and it will not be too long until their way of life is destroyed.
Is
it a far-fetched idea that since human cultures can attack each other on a
routine basis that we have an enemy that can do the same on an individual
level? We have read about wars and understand that there are two
sides to a war. We also have either witnessed or been involved in an
accident where there are two sides to a story. So why is it hard for
us to understand and to keep in focus that if every aspect of our lives has two
sides that there are two sides that are vying for our eternal
being? We have become so engrossed with trying to convince the world
that our way of living is best for everyone that we have lost the drive to
strengthen our spirits from the truth, the real eternal truth and not what the
world has to offer as a temporary fix.
There
is a battle ongoing for our lives and we need to understand that we are all
born into the world of sin because of the choices that have been made before
our time. There is nothing that we humans can do about this, it is
set in motion and it cannot be changed by our hands or any method we try to
complete. We are captives or slaves to this world and it is a
natural stance that we have allowed to overtake our lives simply by not
realizing that there is a way of escape. As a soldier it was taught
to us that there may be a chance that we might be taken
captive. This thought had to be placed into our minds because in
truth it could be a reality during a wartime situation. However, we
were also taught to find any means possible to escape from our captors and to
keep our minds sharp in order to see any weakness in our captive camp so that
we can escape and take as many of our fellow prisoners with us as
possible. This was not an option according to our commanders and it
was considered as a general order for everyone in combat operations to complete
this task if taken captive. In fact, if we did become prisoners of
war and did not try to escape and it was proven that we did not try and escape,
we could potentially face a courts marshal and be found guilty of treason; this
is how serious the subject of captivity had been drilled into our minds.
So
here we are, watching the world infiltrate our lives on every
level. Why do we allow this situation to occur and not try to escape
from its grasps? It is because we have lost our edge against the
world and have begun to embrace its concepts as part of our own. Another
quick example before I move along. During the Korean War there was
news about some US soldiers that crossed the lines and defected to North
Korea. It was hard to imagine why someone would do this but it was
the truth and it did occur. North Korea loved to display these soldiers
as people who decided to follow “their truth” and to see for themselves the
“good life”. Many years after their defection, western journalists
were allowed to interview some of these soldiers and to hear their side of the
story. When the journalists asked if they understood what effects
their actions had on their fellow soldiers, they knew what the ones that they
left behind probably thought but they did not care about the morale of their
fellow soldiers, just that they had left and started a new life.
No
matter which situation you look at, the world has successfully captured our
lives and we are continuously allowing the world to dictate our lives as a
captor. We serve the world as a prisoner and have voluntarily
accepted this status as our own. We have given up our will to fight
against the world and have allowed our enemy’s home field advantage to be in
play which has forced us to succumb to its laws. It is ridiculous
that we do not see what we are allowing to occur, not only on a personal level
but also on a societal level as well.
We
are using our voluntary choices to strengthen the world’s hold upon us instead
of trying to shake it off of us. And if the truth be known this
should be a treasonable offense according to the military commanders that we
have served. To put into perspective, how would our founding fathers
look upon our ways today and more specifically how does our Founding Father
look at our actions of today? Another aspect of our condition we
must consider is that as long as we continue to live in the worldly state we
are automatically subject to its laws and ways and everything that it demands
from our lives we must comply with on every level of life. This
includes all aspects of our life including torture sessions from the world’s
leader whose job it is to make sure we do not fulfill our destiny in life and
what better way to complete this task than to have us as voluntary slaves to
his cause. We must give our enemy credit because he ahs done a
fabulous job in creating an atmosphere that is to our liking, so much so that
we routinely give up the truth in order to pursue worldly principles.
We
have heavily relied upon our ability to choose in order to maintain the status
quo in our lives and while this is not really a bad option to take, it can lead
us down a horrid path if we continue to make bad choices. Contrary
to popular belief and demand we do not need to redefine or have the word “bad”
defined for us once again. This particular word has already been
defined many times and when one reads its definition it clearly states in no
uncertain terms what the word symbolizes, it actually falls into the same
ridiculous category of defining the word “is” as one leader once demanded.
Mankind
needs to wake up and realize that the world is not our friend and its ways and
means will only bring us pain, agony, destruction and death. For the
world can only offer what its leader has to offer and it is imperative that we
understand this chain of command. Our eternal lives are at stake and
we need to adhere to what is true and pure rather than flimsy and wavering at
best. Look at the options that the world has to offer with an honest
heart and spirit and see what the results of those offerings have to give, then
look at the other choice and see what God has to offer in return. Being a prisoner or slave to the world and
its issues actually advances its own selfish cause which in turn advances the leader
of the world’s kingdom. We have already
established who the leader of the world is so that can mean only one thing and
that is if we are committed to the world’s views then we are voluntarily
surrendering to the enemy of life and thus advancing his own kingdom whose goal
is to destroy our lives. Kind of makes
his job a bit easier now doesn’t it.
God
is our liberator and the only One who can guarantee our freedom and eternal
life. Only He can provide an escape from the death grip of our
captor and his ways of lies. Our life is rough enough and if we
continue to believe in the things of the world, then there is no real
possibility of escape from the problems of the world that face us on a daily
basis. God has a plan for each and every one of our lives and we cannot
complete this plan of life as long as we continue to live in captivity to our
enemy. We become ineffective in our responsibilities and duties in
life while we serve our captor. We become his slaves and are allowed
to be traded amongst ourselves and across the worldly borders as long as we
contend that the world is the only answer for our lives. It is becoming clearer of the importance that
we shed the ways of the world and not to embrace them, for it will only bring
us into further captivity. There is definitely
no room for the Church in this world and if any church is dabbling in worldly
archives, then it is doomed from its own foundations.
God
stands with His arms wide open and offers us hope and freedom through
Him. He has provided a simple way based upon the gift of choice and
all it takes is to choose His ways over the world and the separation from the
world automatically begins to take place. It will not be an
overnight process but the notices of change within us when we allow God to come
into our life will be visible to everyone that encounters our lives. Restoration
is a wonderful process and it soothes our spirits and heals us of the ways of
the world that have beaten down our lives for a long time. There is
still time to allow God this access to our lives and to open our spiritual eyes
to His love for us. God loves us and He is for us and not against
us. He wishes to bless our land and to heal it once again but as
long as we embrace the world and its ways the gulf between man and God will
continue its dark and ugly course and destruction will soon follow. As
the song writer has said, it is time that we speak life into the darkness
instead of shooting out the light bulb.
DLB
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