What would you do if you had to choose between keeping God's Word and keeping your job? What if God called you to perform a job, but to complete that job the way you think God wants you to carry it out meant that you would lose that job?
That is the choice many chaplains in the United States military will face if the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy is found unconstitutional and homosexuals are allowed to serve openly in the military.
Many of the current chaplains serving in the military believe in the authority of scripture. They echo the words of King David written in Psalm 19:7-11.
"The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward."
Jewish and Muslim chaplains will also find themselves in the same dilemma; follow military regulations and ignore scriptural commands, or minister according to scriptural truth and become insubordinate to a superior officer.
This is already happening in other aspects of chaplaincy service. Many chaplains are now required to submit their prayers in writing to JAG officers for their approval. Some chaplains have even been disciplined by the military for being obedient to scripture causing them to be disobedient to the military command structure.
Many say the solution is to only employ chaplains that will ignore scriptural commands that are in conflict with military policy. But what kind of faith is that? What soldier would trust a chaplain who chose to obey man made laws and ignore God's law? And wouldn't this policy, in effect, be establishing a government sanctioned religion?
The policy makers and media moguls would have you to believe that striking down "Don't ask, don't tell" is a civil rights issue; a sexual orientation issue. In reality, it will be a 1st Amendment issue. It will be a freedom of religious expression issue. It will be a freedom of speech issue.
Repealing "Don't ask, don't tell" will establish an officially sanctioned, government approved belief system. That establishment will destroy the protections found in the 1st Amendment and impact us personally, whether we serve in the military or not..
What will chaplains do? They will have to make the hard decision between keeping God's Word and keeping their job. What will we do? If "Don't ask, don't tell" is repealed, we will have to decide if we will allow the 1st Amendment to be ignored, dissolved, and discarded. We can submit to the Church and State becoming institutionally joined, or we can follow the example of patriots and men of faith who fought for their freedom and ours.
We can follow the example of founders like Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Fisher Ames, and Benjamin Rush. We can follow the example of George Washington who, in one of his first actions as President, established the practice of employing chaplains in military service.
Will we continue the fight for religious freedom and freedom of speech? The choice is ours. Choose well.
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