Proverbs 12:18
There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword,
But the tongue of the wise brings healing.
Proverbs 29:9
When a wise man has a controversy with a foolish man,
The foolish man either rages or laughs, and there is no rest.
Psalm 122:8
For the sake of my brothers and my friends,
I will now say, “ May peace be within you.”
You forgot this one...
Matthew 7:6 (King James Version):
Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet.
Proverbs 12:18
There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword,
But the tongue of the wise brings healing.
Well, fortunately for me, I have to do this slowly. So, that makes stuff here not so rash, as it could possibly be, if someone was just pounding the keyboard back in an instant. With me, I think it through and post the analysis of the matter, along with whatever other thoughts I have. I've seen "rash" on these boards, and believe me, there's nothing rash about those statements related to the fact that "support the troops" has nothing to do with the "policy of the U.S. Government," and especially not, if and when it changes. Those are two separate matters. And it's the confusion over the matter, with several others here on this board, which contributes to a lot of the rash replies that do come back.
What's going to come out of this is that there are going to be a lot of mad people, commiserating with one another, on this board, come around the elections of 2008, when it gets to be really clear that there is no way that the politics of the country is going to sustain any further involvement in Iraq and the withdrawal will start. The only question then will be how hasty it will be. And there will be a lot of back-biting at that time, I'm sure. It's all coming down the road...
Proverbs 29:9
When a wise man has a controversy with a foolish man,
The foolish man either rages or laughs, and there is no rest.
Well, I'm seen the "rage moments" here on the board, that's for sure. It usually comes in the form of "support the troops" but gets mixed up in the fact that the U.S. Government policy is about to change and withdrawal is about to happen. So, the rage comes out of the fact of that confusion of the two, unable to separate one from the other and "support the troops" -- in all policies, no matter whether it's withdrawal or staying. The one has nothing to do with the other. But, the rage comes anyway, it seems...
Aside from that, I've had my "laugh-out-loud" moments, reading some of these comments and seeing how misguided they are. There a few laughing moments, that's for sure...
Psalm 122:8
For the sake of my brothers and my friends,
I will now say, “ May peace be within you.”
And that one would be a good one to take, once the withdrawal of the troops from Iraq happens. Those who will be inclined to rage and anger because of it, will need to take that one to heart. I wonder if they will?
Then "StarCMC" said --
Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet.
Well, I can certainly see one big problem here, if someone is trying to attribute some U.S. Government policy to something from God and is "holy". I've hardly ever seen anything come out of the U.S. Government that would be considered "holy" in the sense that God is. That's a real big mistake that some people will make, thinking that their government equates to the holiness of God.
In fact, in the Bible we see that God is going to take every nation on the face of this earth (and that includes the United States) and condemn it for their evil ways. God says He's going to judge every nation on the face of this earth. Some Bible scholars even say that the U.S. does not even exist anymore, because it gets destroyed before the time of the Tribulation. So much for "holiness". But, I personally don't think that's the case (just saying what some Bible scholars say).
In any case, we can never take a single government policy of any kind and attribute it anywhere near the holiness of God. Government is of the making of mankind, and although God has instituted certain rulers and governments for the restraining of evil, as we see in Romans (by the Apostle Paul), the governments of the world (and also of the United States) are not doing a very good job of that and seem more to promote evil than restrain it.
This is very much so in the United States, that's for sure. In fact, it was one of the members of the Graham family (of Billy Graham's family; can't remember which one) who said that if God does not judge the United States of America for its sins, then God is going to owe an apology to Sodom and Gomorrah. And that's very true. That's why the judgement from God will be coming, at some time in the not so distant future.
Regards,
Star Traveler