December 7, 1941 was a date that would live in infamy according to President Roosevelt. It definitely has done just that, for we have remembered this day every year as it alone entered the United States into the greatest of wars. In my opinion, never has there been in history such a war in which we, the world, joined forces on one side to fight the very real and horrific evil that existed in the Axis countries.
You can look at Alexander the Great’s conquest of the Mediterranean and Eastern World, or look to the Romans as they conquered North West and Eastern Europe, The Middle east and Mediterranean, Africa and Western Asia. There are the Huns who took a greater geographical region than the aforementioned and the British who conquered areas that span the globe. However, none of these compare to the drama that occurred when very civilized, modern nations descended to the pits of Hell itself. There was nothing that motivated this war except hate and murder. The previous empires’ motives that were mentioned were, even though misguided, merely to expand their empires by forcing their culture and civilization on the rest of the world. (Which, in most cases, was a technological benefit to the conquered peoples)
The sacrifices for this pursuit were great. My Grandfather received a purple heart in WWII. He had been captured in Europe and sent to a Nazi prison camp. In the prison camp, due to weather conditions, he had severe frostbite on his feet and lower legs having to have them amputated. Others gave much more than this as they lost their lives, especially during the invasion of the French beaches on D-day.
Our Crusade against evil continued on against the communist countries where many more human atrocities occurred, under the radar, ranging somewhere between 50-70 million people slaughtered. This is what happens when people believe that the government can solve all problems. As in communism they replace God with the state and in order for their doctrine to work they must eliminate those who do not fit into the system.
So the question is posed, do we continue to this day, as a nation, to crusade against evil or have we invited this evil in?
Life Lesson-
Evil rears its ugly head in many forms, not only in the extreme cases such as war but in more subtle ways. We have families that break up and lives that are destroyed whether by crime or by conflict. We have people in need who are ignored or abandoned.
This holiday season is a prime place to start in your own personal crusade against evil. Seek to mend broken relationships, look for those who may need a helping hand or an encouraging word. If those soldiers gave up their appendages and lives for our crusade against evil then can we not give up our pride or money to help out others. We need to consistently take these stands against evil which will aid in preventing it from spreading and infecting our nation.
If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? (James 2:15-16)
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