My Tears From "Tears of the Sun"

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." ~ Edmund Burke (quote also used in the movie “Tears of the Sun” in 2003.

Sony Pictures

“You know me…I don’t cry easily,” I reminded my husband as I started sniffling, though tired from just being roused from my mid afternoon sleep after working the night before.

He was in the middle of watching a movie and at first, I wasn’t paying attention except to read the news from my cell phone. My heart sank as I read that a British citizen was just beheaded by Muslim extremists. Two Americans lost their lives recently in the same fashion by these evil hands.

A loud “No!” was aired from a particular scene that I had no choice but to peek really quick and saw the evil act being done by rebels in Nigeria. They  were raping women. The villagers were also massacred by the said evil group. To make it short, I kept interrupting my husband to give me a short summary, as I put my phone down and tears started swelling in the corner of my eyes. 

“It was only a movie,” I would often tell myself. But this time, I felt the villagers’ struggle. I felt their pain. I felt their loss. But worse, my heart was broken when it realized the sacrifice the American Navy SEAL Team headed by Bruce Willis (as Lt.Waters) had done. Close to the end, Lt. Waters was forced to choose between following orders (which was to extract a US citizen and a mission priest and two nuns) or to save the lives of those villagers facing tortures and death. The US citizen, Dr. Kendricks, (played by Monica Bellucci), had set up a clinic in the jungle, also refused to leave unless she could bring along at least 70 refugees with them. She made it clear. If left behind, they, for sure, would face a certain death. With Lt. Waters’ conscience forcing him to disobey the order to get the citizens and missionaries only, him and his team willingly chose to help the remaining villagers to reach a nearby border town where they all could go for a safe haven. But with that choice came an expected gut-wrenching loss of some of his team members as they were ambushed by pursuing, evil rebels. Eventually, the movie ended where the villagers reached the border and were saved and the SEALs’ help arriving to get them out and retrieve the bodies of the dead soldiers as they bombed those pursuing rebels and killed them all.

“It was only a movie…” my thought started reiterating what I would often say. But it didn’t even go there. As my tears flowed and I recalled the many lives lost in the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan. As I recalled the many awaiting families who sent off their loved ones to battle the terrorists in different places of Earth to preserve freedom and help a particular country’s oppressed.

The movie had long been replaced with another and as I returned to reality, I knew...

That we are all still facing this war. As Christians, our true battle is spiritual and we can’t face any without God’s strength and His weapons. War is ugly. But at times, war can be justified and is necessary. To bring aggression, injustice and even genocide to stop is a just cause.

Let’s all pray for our country’s leaders and for God’s true wisdom to prevail in these trying times… 

Deep in my heart, those who were killed but believed in Christ never faced death…They died…in the hands of evil men… yet they lived…Eternally… And as Christians, knowing this faithful promise of His, should enable us to live our lives differently. What can each of us do with the light He imparted in each of our hearts today that can bring change around us? May we be faithful in our prayers as we share what we know about His love and grace…

 ⁸ He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. ⁹ When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”- Luke 21:8,9 (NIV)

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. - Ephesians 6:11,12 (NIV)

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. - Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)