The essence of war is a violent struggle between two hostile, independent, and irreconcilable wills, each trying to impose itself on the other. War is fundamentally an interactive social process. Clausewitz called it a Zweikampf (literally a “two-struggle”) and suggested the image of a pair of wrestlers locked in a hold, each exerting force and counterforce to try to throw the other.
War is thus a process of continuous mutual adaptation, of give and take, move and counter move. It is critical to keep in mind that the enemy is not an inanimate object to be acted upon but an independent and animate force with its own objectives and plans. While we try to impose our will on the enemy, they resist us and seek to impose their own will on us. Appreciating this dynamic interplay between opposing human wills is essential to understanding the fundamental nature of war...
The object in war is to impose our will on our enemy. - MCDP 1, 1-4
War is an inescapable concept. It is not a question of if there will be war, but which wars will there be, which uniform will you wear, how will you fight and ultimately, who will win?
Enmity is part of our world by God's desire and declaration. Enmity has been placed between light and darkness, good and evil, the offspring of Eve and the offspring of the Serpent.
Genesis 3:15
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
He shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise His heel.
The enmity between light and dark is put there by God.
The imposition of wills is inescapable. It is not a question of if one will and purpose will be imposed upon another, but rather, which will and purpose will be imposed upon which and again, whose will win?
The end goal of opposing forces is to impose its own will and purpose upon its enemy. In the meantime, until one is subdued by the other, there will be friction. Friction and tension are a result of opposing forces pulling away from or bumping into one another, but being unable to escape the other as long as it exists.
This is the world as God has ordained as a result of sin. Sin and righteousness will be at war until sin, Satan and death are finally overcome, subdued, and overwhelmed by the appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ! His will and purpose will ultimately be imposed upon the earth and those who dwell therein as it is now Heaven.
Isaiah 2:4
He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.
By God's grace, a day is coming where war will be no more. Enmity and opposition will be subdued entirely. But that day is not today. Until then, we carry swords and spears. To lay down our arms before that day is to surrender. The enmity will NOT go away until He returns. To seek to end the enmity in any other way is to betray our hope in His appearing. To lay down our arms before He returns is to join the enemy. The enemy will not stop warring. They have believed God's promise and will not stop trying to impose its will upon us. They have taken the enmity seriously.
Have we?
Jeremiah 6:14
They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.
To seek peace where there is no peace is to ensure more casualties in the war. The war will continue whether we like it or not. To shake hands with evil is to have been overcome by evil. To make a peace treaty with darkness it to have the will and purpose of darkness imposed upon us.
"To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace."
- George Washington
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