9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,”[a] and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Romans 13:9-10
We have often used the question, “What would Jesus do?” to determine what action is best in a situation. Maybe we should ask ourselves a different question: “DTDH – Does this do harm?” Although, that raises the question, How do I define “harm?” How would you define “harm?” Is this helpful to determine how to love your neighbor as yourself? Why or why not? How does this impact your thinking about militarism and the war machine?
Each day (except Sundays) during Lent, we will post a Scripture for reflection on our theme, “Military Withdrawal.” Together, we will learn to walk in God’s ways of peacemaking and reconciliation. These posts are meant to stimulate conversation and interaction. Please post your thoughts and comments.
Tongue on Fire 
I read a very interesting article yesterday evening titled “Go Ahead. Pray for Putin’s Demise” with the subtitle ‘The imprecatory psalms give us permission to push boldly against evil’ written by Tish Harrison Warren. She is a priest in the Anglican Church of North America. In one paragraph she notes:
“In seminary, I had a Northern Irish professor who lived through the Troubles, the 30-year ethno-nationalist violence in Northern Ireland. He saw violence against the innocent firsthand.
When he was younger and a seminarian himself, he rewrote a psalm for a class assignment. In it, he prayed that any terrorist who made a bomb would have it blow up in his face. His American professor pulled him aside, chastised him for using such a violent image, and told him he needed to repent. My professor, reflecting on this memory, told me he realized then that his American professor had never witnessed unprovoked violence against innocents and children.”
Can this be what late activist, Barbara Deming, (in our Lenten Compact book) was demonstrating with one hand up signaling the enemy to stop, and the other hand outstretched graciously indicating that I will never give up on you?
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