day no. 16,593: the punishment of a crime

"War is waged by men, not by beasts or Gods. It is a peculiarly human activity. To call it a crime against mankind is to miss at least half of its significance; it is also the punishment of a crime."

— Frederic Manning, The Middle Parts of Fortune

God has declared war on sin and set enmity between the seed of the serpent and the seed of Eve. War is therefore not a sin in itself unless it is waged directly against the seed of Eve or indirectly against the efforts of the seeds of Eve to fight the seeds of the serpent. As Manning points out, war does contain a crime, but only on one side of the battlefield. To be on the side of peace is to be at war with the side of war. God calls men to fight for the sake of ending all fighting. God calls men to peacemaking, not peacekeeping; the creation of calm comes at the cost of crushing the chaos. Peace can be made only by ruthlessly eradicating restlessness.

Galatians 5:17

The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other.

It is not a crime to punish a crime. The officer lawfully breaks the speed limit in order to apprehend the one unlawfully breaking the speed limit. The executioner lawfully ends the life of the lawless one caught and convicted of murder. The officer speeds to put an end to speeding; the executioner kills to put an end to bloodshed. He isn't committing a crime, but condemning one. 

The love of God produces a hatred of evil and a desire for peace inspires the battle to end all battling.