Honoring Those That Serve

By:  Dale Weckbacher   

Matthew 23:11-12

But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.  12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. 

NKJV

Today is Veterans Day in the United States.  It is a day our nation sets aside to honor those that have served in the defense of the nation.  Jesus reminds us in Matthew 23:11-12 that those that humble themselves in service to us are people whom we should hold in high esteem.  If you are reading this and among those that have humbled yourself to serve your nation in the armed forces, let me express my gratitude for your humble service and I pray God will bless you. 

Even though the original intent of Veterans Day was a day for the nation to pause and honor those that have served to defend the nation, the day has unfortunately become just like any other day for some.  I for one have to work today, as do many who do not work for the government.  However, if not for the humble sacrifice of veterans who have protected my nation from its enemies, I may not have the freedom to go to work today so, even though I must work today, I once again want to thank the many veterans who have served and protected my freedoms.

The idea of servant leadership is foreign to many in our society today, including many holding political office.  Instead of honoring our veterans by insuring they are cared for in reward for their service, we open our border, allowing foreigners who have done nothing to serve the citizens of our nation access to entitlement programs such as free health care, food stamps, refundable tax credits etc.  Meanwhile we subject veterans to a VA system with long waiting lists and inferior care. 

Warfare is a bloody violent business and those that nations send into battle experience atrocities unlike most civilians will ever experience.  As such, these men and women return from the battlefield with serious and even debilitating physical injuries.  However, perhaps the most serious of injuries these individuals return with are the mental issues they must deal with.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a serious condition affecting many of our returning veterans.  Left untreated, PTSD can be as debilitating as losing a limb.  This is why it saddens me when politicians give criminals, illegally entering my nation, preference over men and women they sent into battle who return with serious injuries.  Our nation must get its priorities straight and honor those that serve it instead of those illegally coming in looking for a handout.

The 2016 Presidential Election in the United States is less than a year away and the first primary is less than 90 days away.  As with any election, the nation faces many serious issues this election.  However, on this Veterans Day, let us consider ways that the next President and Congress can improve our treatment of veterans by,

1)      Giving our brave veterans a choice when it comes to their health care.  Many of those reading this either have some form of private insurance of are on Medicare of Medicaid.  Most people insured under these programs have the liberty to choose their doctor.  Shouldn’t we give those that humbly served to preserve our liberty the same option.

2)      Stop making the defense budget the ATM machine politicians use to fund their pet projects by cutting the defense budget.  Not only do these cuts relegate our brave veterans to inferior health care, but it also endangers the nation by hampering the ability of the military to defend the citizens of the nation.  It is a dangerous world today and the United States and many of the other nations of those reading this have many enemies, enemies the military must be prepared to defend citizens against. 

3)      Taking time today, and every day, to pray for those that have served, and are currently serving our nations.  These brave men and women engage extremely evil people with one purpose in mind, destroying the citizens of our nations.  We therefore must pray for God’s protection over them constantly. 

In this election, we will have candidates for office that believe our nation spends too much on defense and that they should take some of this money and spend it on other social programs.  On the other side, we will have candidates that believe it is important for the nation to honor those that humbly serve it and support programs that will honor their service.  Therefore, when we enter the ballot box this election, let us insure we vote for candidates supporting the military for it is they who are exalting those humbly making the sacrifice to serve us by defending us.  I believe this is the most compassionate act we as voters can do to exalt those serving us.