Another church newsletter submission, short and sweet, but I felt this is all I needed to say this month.

“ Knowing what’s right doesn’t mean much unless you do what’s right.” [Theodore Roosevelt]

 When Sargent First Class Charles Martland served his tour of duty in Afghanistan, his unit was approached by a woman who was desperate to help her young son. The boy had been the victim of a brutal two week sexual assault perpetrated by the Afghan Local Police chief that Sargent Martland’s unit had trained. Worse still, the boy’s mother was victimized when she tried to stop the abuse. With no other recourse, she turned to the Americans, but military law prevented them from acting, because child abuse was considered an “internal Afghan cultural issue” which had to be addressed by the Afghans. Sargent Martland and Captain Dan Quinn beat up the abuser and threw him out of their camp. Though they have been dishonorably discharged from the Army, they stand by their actions in defense of a helpless child. When we decide to do what’s right instead of what’s convenient, we are not promised that the path we have to follow will be easy. Indeed, we may be asked to give up our careers, families, and perhaps even our lives in order to do what’s morally right, but as we grapple with difficult decisions, God is with us. We need have no fear of those who will try to stop us from doing the right thing because, as the Bible promises, “Even if you suffer for what is right you are blessed.” (1 Peter 3:14)