'Being in Iraq ... you become different'

Found this great story on CNN.com -

"Matt Robinson returned from infantry duty in Iraq struggling with drugs and alcohol and soon was homeless. He is not alone. One-third of all homeless adults in the U.S. served in the military. Robinson turned his life around with the help of CNN Hero Roy Foster, who founded Stand Down House to support veterans in Florida." Foster's full story is here.

One-third of all homeless adults in the U.S. served in the military. That's an incredible statistic. A statistic this disproportionate calls for some serious reflection. The one question that the article doesn't answer and one that forces us to re-evaluate war in general is this -

"What is it about time spent in combat that damages the hearts and souls of so many people?"

In my mind the answer is obvious:

You can't train people created in the image of God to kill other people who are created in the image of God - no matter how good the cause or how evil the actions of the other - without serious impact to their spirit, mind, and body.

The difficult truth is that this answer carries with it implications that are complicated and costly. Most people prefer to ignore the steps we need to take in order to remedy the situation. May God bless the work of Roy Foster and others as they lay down their lives for the broken...and may God call us to live in such a way that both follows their example and refuses to avoid difficult answers.