Navigating the Fog of War in Ukraine
Carl Philipp Gottfried von Clausewitz, a Prussian general during the early part of the 19th century, is credited with describing “the fog of war.” He said: “War is the realm of uncertainty; three quarters of the factors on which action in war is based are wrapped in a fog of greater or lesser uncertainty.”
The unjustified Russia invasion of Ukraine conjures up images of Nazi Germany two generations ago–and at this point, there are few things we know and plenty that we don’t.
Here’s my initial take on navigating the fog of war in Ukraine.
Age of Dictators
I intended to write this week on dictatorships that are growing in our world.
Then, Russia invaded Ukraine–and upped the ante as to what’s really happening.
Suddenly, this looks hauntingly like a redux of World War II–except we have ten nations that possess nuclear weapons. That means the tactics of war and the stakes are quite different.
There’s no doubt we live in an age of dictators and maybe the beginning of a new world war.
Here’s my view.
A Paramount Issue of the 2020s
There are many priorities this decade that demand our attention and prayers. Fulfilling the Great Commission has remained God’s paramount priority for the past 2000 years because it’s the command of Jesus that will bring the greatest good to the planet–now and in eternity.
We could also list issues like abortion–the great sin of shedding innocent blood (Proverbs 6:17). This quiet slaughter of over one billion innocent children worldwide in the past three generations certainly qualifies as paramount in the eyes of God.
But I’m thinking of another problem I never saw coming in the United States and world until just a few years ago. This issue may greatly impact the other two.
The silencing of free speech.