How to break a bad habit (and replace it with a good one)

By Jane Clear

Bad habits interrupt your life and prevent you from accomplishing your goals. They jeopardize your health — both mentally and physically. And
they waste your time and energy. So why do we still do them? And most importantly, is there anything you can do about it? I’ve previously written about the science of how habits start , so now let’s focus on the practice of making changes in the real world. How can you delete your bad behaviors and stick to good ones instead?
I certainly don’t have all of the answers, but keep reading and I’ll share what I’ve learned about how to break a bad habit.

What causes bad habits?
Most of your bad habits are caused by two things… Stress and boredom.
Most of the time, bad habits are simply a way of dealing with stress and boredom. Everything from biting your nails to overspending on a shoppingspree to drinking every weekend to wasting time on the internet can be a simple response to stress and boredom.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can teach yourself new and healthy ways to deal with stress and boredom, which you can then substitute in place of your bad habits.
Of course, sometimes the stress or boredom that is on the surface is actually caused by deeper issues. These issues can be tough to think about, but if you’re serious about making changes then you have to be honest with yourself.
Are there certain beliefs or reasons that are behind the bad habit? Is there something deeper — a fear, an event, or a limiting belief — that is causing you to hold on to something that is bad for you? Recognizing the causes of your bad habits is crucial to overcoming them.

You don’t eliminate a bad habit, youreplace it.
All of the habits that you have right now — good orbad — are in your life for a reason. In some way, these behaviors provide a benefit to you, even if they are bad for you in other ways. Sometimes the benefit is biological like it is with smoking or drugs. Sometimes it’s emotional like it is when you stay in a relationship that is bad for you. And in many cases, your bad habit is a simple way to cope with stress. For example, biting your
nails, pulling your hair, tapping your foot, or clenching your jaw. These “benefits” or reasons extend to smaller bad habits as well.
For example, opening your email inbox as soon as you turn on your computer might make you feel connected. At the same time looking at all of those emails destroys your productivity, divides your attention, and overwhelms you with stress. But, it prevents you from feeling like you’re “missing out” … and so you do it again.
Because bad habits provide some type of benefit in your life, it’s very difficult to simply eliminate them. (This is why simplistic advice like “just stop doing it” rarely works.) Instead, you need to replace a bad habit with a new habit that provides a similar benefit.
For example, if you smoke when you get stressed, then it’s a bad plan to “just stop smoking” when that happens. Instead, you should come up with a different way to deal with stress and insert that new behavior instead of having a cigarette.
In other words, bad habits address certain needs in your life. And for that reason, it’s better to replace your bad habits with a healthier behavior that addresses that same need. If you expect yourself to simply cut out bad habits without replacing them, then you’ll have certain needs that will be unmet and it’s going to be hard to stick to a routine of “just don’t do it” for very long.

How to break a bad habit
Here are some additional ideas for breaking your bad habits and thinking about the process in a new way.

Choose a substitute for your bad habit.
You need to have a plan ahead of time for how you will respond when you face the stress or boredom that prompts your bad habit. What are you going to do when you get the urge to smoke? (Example: breathing exercises instead.) What are you going to do when Facebook is calling to you to procrastinate? (Example: write one sentence for work.) Whatever it is and whatever you’re dealing with, you need to have a plan for what you will do instead of your bad habit.

Cut out as many triggers as possible.
If you smoke when you drink, then don’t go to the bar. If you eat cookies when they are in the house, then throw them all away. If the first thing you do when you sit on the couch is pick up the TV remote, then hide
the remote in a closet in a different room. Make it easier on yourself to break bad habits by avoiding the things that cause them. Right now, your environment makes your bad habit easier and good habits harder. Change your environment and you can change the outcome.

Join forces with somebody.
How often do you try to diet in private? Or maybe you “quit smoking” …
but you kept it to yourself? (That way no one will see you fail, right?)
Instead, pair up with someone and quit together. The two of you can hold each other accountable and celebrate your victories together. Knowing
that someone else expects you to be better is a powerful motivator.
Surround yourself with people who live the way you want to live. You don’t need to ditch your old friends, but don’t underestimate the power of
finding some new ones. If you don’t know where to start, then join a Superhuman Meetup .

Visualize yourself succeeding.
See yourself throwing away the cigarettes or buying healthy food or waking up early. Whatever the bad habit is that you are looking to break, visualize yourself crushing it, smiling, and enjoying your success. See
yourself building a new identity . You don’t need to be someone else, you just need to return to the old you. So often we think that to break our bad habits, we need to become an entirely new person. The truth is that you already have it in you to be someone without your bad habits. In fact, it’s
very unlikely that you had these bad habits all of your life. You don’t need to quit smoking, you just need to return to being a non–smoker. You don’t need to transform into a healthy person, you just need to return to being healthy. Even if it was years ago, you have already lived without this bad habit, which means you can most definitely do it again.

You know what I'm saying?

It’s no secret that good leaders are also good communicators. And the best leaders have learned that effective communication is as much about authenticity as the words they speak and write.
Indeed, communication and leadership are inextricably tied. How can you galvanize, inspire or guide others if you don’t communicate in a
clear, credible, authentic way?

Here are 5 essential communication practices of
effective leaders.

1. Mind the say-do gap.
This is all about trust, which is the bedrock of effective leadership. Your
behavior is your single greatest mode of communication, and it must be congruent with what you say. If your actions don’t align with your
words, there’s trouble. And it can turn into big trouble if not corrected swiftly and genuinely. Since it’s often difficult to see the say-do gap in
yourself, rely on a few trusted colleagues to tell it to you straight and flag discrepancies. Rule of thumb: it’s better to say nothing or delay your
communication until you’re certain that your actions will ring true.

2. Make the complex simple.
Your employees and customers are being bombarded 24/7 by information, making it hard for them to hear you. Simplicity has never been more powerful or necessary. Effective leaders distill complex
thoughts and strategies into simple, memorable terms that colleagues and customers can grasp and act upon. If you’re having trouble distilling
something to its essence, it may be that you don’t understand it. So get clear and look out for technical jargon and business speak, which add
complexity. Say what you mean in as few words as possible.

3. Find your own voice.
Use language that’s distinctly your own. Let your values come through
in your communication. Often, executives will opt for the sanitized “corporate voice” instead of their own because they think the former is more eloquent; more appropriate. This is not to say that correct grammar and use of language aren’t important — strong leaders know how to string a sentence together. But don’t fixate on eloquence;
concentrate on being distinct and real. People want real. People respect real. People follow real. Don’t disguise who you are. Be genuine, and people will respect you for it.

4. Be visible.
Visibility is about letting your keystakeholders get a feel for who you are and what you care about. It’s easy to hide behind a computer  and transmit messages to others without seeing or interacting with them. Although e-communication serves a valuable purpose, it is no substitute for face-to-face and voice-to-voice communication. In today’s environment, people are often burned out and need to feel a personal connection to you and the work that you believe in. Do a “calendar
test” to make sure you’re allocating time regularly to be out on the floor, in the factory, in the callcenter, in the lab, in the store. Show your people
that you’re engaged and care about them and their work.

5. Listen with your eyes as well as your ears.
Stop, look and listen. Remember that effective communication is two-way. Good leaders know how to ask good questions, and then listen with
both their eyes and ears. It’s easy to be so focused on getting your message out — or persuading others — that you don’t tune in to what you see and hear. Because you’re in a position of authority, the stakes are even higher because you won’t always get direct feedback. You need to read between the lines. Listen and hear what is coming back at you. Look for the nonverbal cues. Sometimes a person’s body language will tell you everything you need to know. 

SUSAN TARDANICO

The virtue of patience

James S. Spiegel

Patience is a virtue." We're all familiar with that cliché, and many of us know that patience is listed by Paul in Galatians 5:22-23 as among the fruit of the Spirit. So there's no disputing that the Christian ought to be patient. But as with most of the virtues, the biblical writers assume that we know what patience is and don't give an explicit definition. But do
we? Could you define patience if you were asked? And, to make things more tricky, could you do so without simply citing examples of patience? Starting with the basic definition of patience as "waiting without complaint,"' we will address some key questions. Why is patience a virtue? What are the different varieties of patience? Why is patience so difficult at times? And how is patience developed?

Why Patience Is a Virtue ?

When defined as "waiting without complaint," patience might seem to be a morally insignificant trait. What's so virtuous about not complaining? In itself, not complaining carries no particular virtue. Suppose a person awaits the arrival of a friend from out of town, and she spends the time happily reading or watching television. We wouldn't say that, simply because she's not complaining, she exhibits patience in this case. Something else must be required to make one's lack of complaint virtuous. That something is discomfort . It's because a circumstance is uncomfortable for someone that we find her refusal to complain remarkable and thus regard her as patient.

So to improve the initial definition above, to be patient is to endure discomfort without complaint. This calls into play some other virtues, specifically, Self-control, humility, and generosity. That is, patience is not a fundamental virtue so much as a complex of other virtues. An example from the life of Christ illustrates this. Jesus was very patient with his disciples. They were sometimes thickheaded, lazy, selfish, and
slow to believe. Even from a merely human standpoint, we can see how frustrating they must have been. How much more irritating it would be for God Incarnate to interact daily with these men. In spite of Jesus' miracles and words of wisdom, they were focused upon themselves and wavered in their belief about who he really was. To say that was uncomfortable for

Jesus would be an understatement. Yet do we find him railing at his disciples over their foolishness and stupidity? Or making fun of them when they make mistakes? Occasionally he does remark that his disciples are slow to believe, or he asks rhetorically how long they will fail to have faith in him, but these are always appropriate reminders about just what was at stake for them. These were fitting and useful
rebukes, not petty venting. Notice that Jesus' refusal to complain about his irritating disciples can be described as an exercise of self-control.
Surely he would have been justified in blistering them with insults. It's worth noting that his omniscience guaranteed that every possible joke and embarrassing remark was at his disposal on any particular occasion. This makes his self- control even more admirable. Also, his refusal to complain involves humility, the conscious decision to lower himself by not exercising his right, as the holy man he was, to judge and
dismiss his friends because of their faults. We might even say this is a form of mercy. Finally, Jesus' refusal to complain about his disciples is generous. In spite of their vice and thick-headedness, he remained no less committed to them and served them increasingly as their failures became more

Tips for maintaining friendship

By Genevieve Van Wyden

A good friendship nourishes your need for human interaction. When you have a circle of close friends as well as acquaintances with whom you
can share good times and bad, laugh and just hang out together, you feel connected to others. Having friends helps people to be happy as well as get through tough times. Once you’ve met someone and become friends with her, you need to participate in give-and-take to keep the friendship
going. Like all relationships, friendships take effort.

Go Easy on your Friends

Life happens. Flat tires, sick children and lost keys happen to your friends just as they do to you. When you’ve made plans to do Saturday lunch
with your best friend and you show up, then end up waiting for 30 minutes, don’t assume you’ve been stood up on purpose. Call your friend. Be willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, just as you'd like her to do for you. When you're willing to go easy on each other, you both realize that circumstances don't matter as much as the relationship. If your friend consistently flakes out on plans or commitments, thought, think about whether it's worth maintaining this friendship.

Give Each Other Space

Once you have a good friendship going, find a happy balance that allows the two of you to spend time together as well as with other people. You've probably heard the stories of friends who became "stalker friends," ruining their relationships. It isn’t necessary to call your friend five times a day and get together every day to do something, but do keep her in the loop and make plans to see each other every few days. Give her time to be with her family and with other friends, too. Some people
enjoy solitary time as well.

Be Reliable

If you offered to help your school friend with a yard sale, remember to show up. Nothing says “quality friend” like someone who is reliable and
dependable. Conversely, the person who consistently flakes out on obligations and promises will soon find that her friends don’t call her for
get-togethers or to help out with something in their lives. If you tend to forget your obligations, write them down in your planner or wall calendar or log it into your smartphone.

Be a Good Friend

You’ve probably heard the sayings, “To have a friend, be a friend,” or “Treat others as you would want to be treated.” It’s true. This is where the give-and-take of a true friendship comes into play. Treat your good friends like the treasures they are. Act with thoughtfulness toward them. When they are experiencing difficult situations, offer to help; if they don’t want help, let them know you have a shoulder to cry on, should they need one.

Let Your Friends Know You Think of Them

When you see something that reminds you of a close friend, make a quick note of that. The next time you see your friend or even when you’re
communicating online, tell her, “I saw the most beautiful scarf at the store today that reminded me of you!” When you hear some good news, contact your friend and congratulate her. She’ll appreciate your effort. Friendships are connections between people, so letting your friends know when something reminds you of them helps you strengthen that connection.

Put Effort Into Your Friendships

When you put effort into your relationships, they blossom. Just like putting small deposits into your savings account, your “friendship balance” will grow when you take the time to do fun things with your friends. If life gets in the way, don’t retreat from your friendships, or you’ll find them growing stagnant. Stay in contact even once a week so that,
should something happen to a friend, you can offer support or encouragement.

Tips to increase brain power

By Zoe B.

Here are 10 simple ways you can increase your
brain power and improve your intelligence!
1. Do something new
When you experience something ‘new’ you actually ‘stimulate’ your brain! Don’t get stuck in a rut doing the same old things – the only way to change the structure of your brain is to do something new. This creates new neural pathways, increasing your intelligence. You could take a new route to work, try a new recipe for dinner, or even a new form of exercise – mix it up!

2. Exercise regularly
It’s been proven that regular exercise helps to increase brain function and enhances neurogenesis. This means that every time you exercise you are creating new brain cells! Get off the couch and get moving! Your brain will thank you for it :)

3. Train your memory
How often do you hear people say “I wish I had a better memory!’ Yet no-one does anything about this! If you discipline yourself to memorise phone numbers and other important numbers (passport, credit card, insurance, driving license) you will start to see a marked improvement in your memory.

4. Be curious
Instead of taking everything at face value, get into the habit of questioning everyday things/ products, services that you come into contact with. By being ‘curious’ and questioning everything, you force your brain to innovate & create new ideas. Curiosity may have killed
that cat, more importantly it created super important things like electricity and computers!

5. Think positive
Stress & anxiety kill existing brain neurons and also stop new neurons from being created. Research has shown that positive thinking, especially in the future tense, speeds up the creation of cells and dramatically reduces stress & anxiety. Try and get a handle on negative thoughts and make an effort to replace them with positive ones.

6. Eat healthy
Our diets have a HUGE impact on brain function. Our brains consume over 20% of all nutrients & oxygen that we consume – so remember to feed your brain with the good stuff! (i.e. fresh fruit and veg & plenty of
OMEGA 3 oils found in oily fish)

7. Read a book
Reading relieves tension & stress (brain-cell killers) because it’s a form of escapism. Research has also shown that using your imagination is a great way to train your brain because you force your mind to ‘picture’ what you are imagining. Reading is a great way to trigger your imagination!

8. Get enough sleep
Sleep is like a mini detox for the brain. This is when your body regenerates cells and removes all the toxins that have built up during the day. Get to bed between the hours of 9pm and midnight to benefit from the most effective hours of sleep!

9. Ditch the GPS
Gone are the days of map reading! Sat Nav may have made our lives easier, it has also made our brains lazier and less efficient at the same
time! Go back to the old school and use a map to navigate every now and then (this exercises the part of your brain responsible for understanding spatial relationships).

10. Ban the calculator
Remember back at school when we were taught to use our brains to do simple sums like times tables?! It’s incredible how we now rely on
devices like smart-phones and laptops to calculate really simple equations. Resist the urge to work things out using an external device – and use the device you were born with – your brain!

The Christian and self-defence

The attacks of September 11 and the resulting war against terrorism have brought to the front once again the question of the Christian view of war. The question is particularly complex because it is hard to see how war can be consistent with the biblical emphasis upon forgiveness and forebearance and love.

This emphasis is perhaps most pointed in the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus says:
You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. ( Matthew 5:39-44 ) Does Jesus’ teaching that we should turn the other cheek and love our enemies mean that it is always wrong to go to war? Should the world have turned the other cheek to Hitler and
tried to love him into surrender? When Osama Bin Laden ordered the attack on the World Trade Center, should the U.S. have responded by sending him the Sears Tower as well? Or does Jesus allow a place for both loving our enemies and yet, in certain situations, using force to restrain life-threatening wickedness?

What follows are some of the primary reasons we believe that it is right for the military (and Christians who are a part of the military) to engage in wars that have just cause–namely, self- defense, the restraint of life-threatening evil, and the punishment of nations and individuals who have committed unjust acts of war against one’s country. This is called the just war theory. We will close by seeking to explain how this fits with the command to turn the other cheek, love our enemies, and not resist him who is evil.

Pacifism is harmful
To let someone murder when it is in your power to stop them is completely contrary to our moral sentiments. If a Hitler is on the move and seeking to bind the world in tyranny and destroy entire ethnic groups, it would seem very clearly wrong not to oppose him with force (which sometimes is the only effective method). It is true that war itself is harmful and tragic; but pacifism would result in even more harm to the
world because it would give wicked people virtually free reign. We of course must be open to letting the Bible transform our moral sentiments, but this observation should at least cause us to pause and reflect more deeply before concluding that Jesus is intending to teach pacifism.

Consistent pacifism would have to eliminate the police, not just the military In fact, if we were to conclude that governments should
always turn the other cheek and never resist evil, then we would be logically committing ourselves to getting rid of not only the armed forces, but also the police force and criminal justice system. For police officers arrest criminals, using force against them if necessary, and put them in jail. That is not turning the other cheek. Does Jesus intend his command to turn the other cheek to apply to the police? Surely not as their primary way of responding to evil. God does not want evil to run about in our society unchecked (cf. in the OT the numerous civil laws and in the NT Romans 13, to be discussed below). If one accepts the  egitimacy of police using force in some instances, there can be no objection to the military using force in some instances, either.

Luke 3:14 allows military service
It is significant that John the Baptist did not tell the soldiers to leave the military when they asked him what it meant to repent: “And some soldiers were questioning him, saying, ‘And what about us, what shall we do?’ And he said to them, ‘Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages’” ( Luke 3:14 ). Since it is, therefore, possible to live a godly life and yet be in the military, it must be because engaging in war is not always sinful. John 18:36 acknowledges the right of the sword to earthly kingdoms

In this passage, Jesus says: “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting, that I might not be delivered up to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” When Jesus says that if his kingdom were of this world his servants would be fighting, he implies that it is right for kingdoms of this world to fight when the cause is just and circumstances require it.
As Christians, we are citizens of “two kingdoms”-our country on earth, and heaven. Jesus shows us that it is never right to fight for the sake of his spiritual kingdom, but that it is right to fight on behalf of earthly kingdoms (when necessary to counter evil and destruction).

Romans 13:3-4 grants governments the right to use force to restrain and punish evil
Paul writes: “For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil.”
Here Paul affirms the government’s right to use force in two ways. First, he says that it “does not bear the sword for nothing.” Second, he states that government is a “minister of God” when it executes vengeance against evildoers. Governments, of course, do not have the right to use force for any purpose whatsoever. They do not have the right to use force in order to lord it over their citizens and impose unnecessary restraints upon freedom. There are two purposes for which this text says the government is justified in using force: the restraint of evil and the punishment of evil. The purpose of force is not just to prevent further evil from happening, but to punish evil acts by bringing the perpetrators to justice. Government is acting as a “minister of God” when it serves as “an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil.”

Does the right of the sword in this text extend to the case of war? The immediate context does have in mind the use of physical force in regard to a government’s own citizens. But by extension this also implies that if one nation commits an act of war against another nation, the offended nation has the right to engage in self-defense and to avenge the wrong.
Would it be consistent to say that a nation has a right to restrain and punish evil committed against it by its own citizens, but not to restrain and punish evil committed against it by another nation? The mere fact that the civil offense was committed by another country does not remove their accountability to the country they attacked.

1 Peter 2:13-4 confirms the teaching of Romans 13:3-4
In 1 Peter 2:13-14 , we are taught: “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.” Once again, the right of governments to punish evil is affirmed.

Is it right for a Christian to fight in a war?
Since the Scriptures teach that it is right for a nation to engage in a just war, it follows that it is therefore right for a Christian to fight in such a war. Some have argued that non- Christians may fight in wars but believers may not, but this distinction is not found in Scripture. Scripture teaches that it is not sin for a government to engage in a just war, and there is therefore nothing that forbids Christian from being involved in just wars.

Church and state must be distinguished
It is very important, however, to remember here the distinction between church and state. The Christian fights in a war not as an ambassador of the church or on behalf of the church, but as an ambassador of his country. The church is not to use violence ( John 18:36 ), but the government at times may ( John 18:36 ; Romans 13:3-4 ; etc.). So the Christian fights not as an agent of the church, but as an agent of the government of his country. Both are ultimately under the authority of God, but each has a distinct role.

What about turning the other cheek?
What, now, are we to make of Jesus’ radical commands in Matthew 5:39-41 ? “Do not resist him who is evil; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone wants to sue you, and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. And whoever shall force you to go one mile, go with him two.” How does this fit with what we have seen above?
First, we need to clarify what the problem is not. The problem is not that Jesus appears to be telling us to lie down and let evil overtake us. That is clearly not what he is saying. Instead, he is telling us what it looks like “not [to] be overcome by evil, but [to] overcome evil with good” ( Romans
12:21 ). We have all seen the wisdom of Jesus’ words here in our everyday lives. Much of the time, the most effective way to overcome evil is by not resisting. If someone says a mean word, it is far more effective to respond with kindness than with another mean word in return. If someone tries wrongly to cut you off on the freeway, it is usually best just to let them do it. If we would learn these principles, our lives would be
much more peaceful and, ironically, we would be vindicated more often.

So the problem is not that it looks as though Jesus is telling us to let evil steam-roll over us. The problem is that it looks like Jesus is telling us that the only way we should ever seek to overcome evil is by letting it go and responding with kindness. It looks as though he leaves no place for using force in resisting evil.Part of the answer to this difficulty lies in understanding the hyperbolic nature of much of the Sermon on the Mount. I don’t think that Jesus is telling us never to respond to evil with force (such as in self-defense) or always to literally turn the other cheek when we are slapped any more than his command later in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:6 means that we should only pray when we are completely alone or his command in 5:29 means that some should literally gouge out their eyes. Jesus himself drove the thieves away
from the temple with a whip ( John 2:15 ) and Paul at times insisted on his rights as a Roman citizen ( Acts 25:11 ; cf. also the interesting instance of 16:35-40). Jesus is using hyperbole to illustrate what our primary disposition and attitude should be, not to say that we should literally give in to every attempt to do evil against us. That is part of the answer.

The main part of the answer, however, lies in remembering that Jesus is speaking primarily to individuals. He is not mainly addressing governments here, but is primarily speaking at the personal level. This text, then, shows that an individual’s primary response to evil should be to “turn the other cheek,” while the other texts we have seen (e.g.,
Romans 13:3-4 ) show that government’s God-given responsibility is to punish those who commit civil crimes (murder, terrorism, acts of war, etc.). While it is sometimes appropriate even for individuals to use self-defense, it is never appropriate for individuals to seek to punish others. But it is right, however, for governments both to take measures of self-
defense and to execute retribution.

There are, in other words, various “spheres” of life. God has willed that some spheres include responsibilities that are not necessarily included in other spheres. Personally, it would be wrong for us to execute retribution on people who harm us. But passages like Romans 13:3-4 and John 18:36 show that Jesus is not denying governments the right to execute retribution on evildoers. Therefore, when a Christian is under
the authority of the government and authorized to fight in a just war on the nation’s behalf, it is appropriate for him to fight. For he is not fighting as a private individual, but as a representative of the government to which God has given the power of the sword.

In doing so, a Christian soldier should strive to love one’s opponents in war as people, remembering that he opposes them as agents of the opposing government/system, not as private individuals. When at war, we need to look at people in the opposing army/terrorist group at two levels–the private, and governmental/public. Because of the private level, the soldier should pray for and love the opposing soldiers. And
because of the public level, the soldier fights against them– not as private individuals, but as public representatives of the system and evil that is being opposed. That distinction, I am sure, would be hard to maintain in battle. Neither would it remove the pain and difficulty of being involved in fighting against other human beings. But it is perhaps a faint reflection of how the personal and governmental spheres overlap and involve one another while still remaining distinct.