Joining the armed forces, is it the christian thing to do?

God bless you for your service to our country.

God bless you and thank you for your service.

God bless you and thank you for your service.

If I may add scripture to your well worded post that shared the wisdom of Ecclesiastes.

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
Just substitute nation for house in this verse. House of course applies too. Luke 11:21When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his goods are safe;

It was a joke. I was in the Air Force and washed soiled hospital linens. Somebody had to do it.

That is a good question. Is it ever right to kill? Even Jesus said to Peter live by the sword die by the sword.
But there is some things to take into consideration, a sword is not used only to kill it is also used to defend.
Anyone who has seen battle knows there is no black and white scenarios in battle, the other forces are going to kill without hesitation so what do you do? Do you kill the other forces or let them kill you?

The deciding factor is motive why you fight why you kill.
To fight in order to protect your country your friends and family that shows honor and in turn honors God.
To fight and kill for mere bloodshed of course is the opposite. Granted it isn't always black and white war is messy and chaotic but I think if you go into the armed forces with a pure heart and with christ then you are honoring him.
To fight to protect is what real strength is.

Some soldiers were worried too. They asked John the Baptist.

John 2:14
Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”

He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”

Each Christian must make that decision for themselves. FYI: The majority of Soldiers never see Combat. If one is put off by the idea of having to "kill or be killed," they can Enlist for a Non Combat Arms MOS, which will usually keep them from facing such a decision.

For every Soldier on the Battlefield, there are seven Soldiers behind the lines who work to support the one.

As for singling out serving in the Military to put forth such a question, I suggest you write down ALL the occupations which you could ALSO ask that of.......... You may find that List would be never ending....

"Working as a ......................, is that the Christian thing to do?

A professional sleeper?
A professional mourner?
A snake milker? That would be stressful. Serious twitches developed from that.

I was thinking of different ones such as Bartender and such, but, I guess those work....

When I was 23 I quit a waiter job because I did felt like it was a sin to serve alcohol.

I could probably work as a pro mourner, and be very good at it with my depressed and desperate mental disposition. Good that God's hiring...
I think the Scripture gives a solid Okay for mourning, too

I have gnarly skills at sleeping. Naps are my favorite activity.

I wonder if this offer is still on:
https://abc7.com/science/nasa-will-pay-people-$19000-to-stay-in-bed-2-months/5221356/
Professional resting... for science! lol

That would have been easy for me. I would read the whole time.

OP...I was in the Army. I am NOT a pacifist. Here are the pros and cons as I see them:

Pro's:
I learned that I am WAY, WAY tougher than I thought I was.
I learned how to suffer.
I got a little money for school.
I learned what leadership isn't.
Military doc managed to not mess up and successfully delivered our first baby.

Cons:
I learned what hate is.
I got some injuries that I'll have to the rest of my life. Nothing major, but still a bit annoying.
I have less tolerance for stupid people than I used to.
I learned how to suffer too well.

Don't delude yourself into thinking you're fighting for our freedoms or anything like that. You're not. What you're fighting for will be to continue propping up a fraudulent economic system. The dollar is not backed by gold but by military might. It's a scam. It's been a scam for over a hundred years now.

The USA lacks the moral high ground for a lot of reasons - starting with our rejection of Jesus. Therefore IMO you will bear complete responsibility for any killing you do. Or any killing you contribute to. It will be on YOU. I don't think you'll get to reasonably say that it's okay because it's war, etc. This is because the USA lacks moral standing.

So am I ashamed that I was in the military? Not really, but I'm sure not proud of it. I did what I did with the information I had at the time. But if I had to do it over again, I absolutely would not. I am very happy my kids are not going in.

Movies that glamorize war do it because they want people to feed into their machine. Young men are highly susceptible to this. Watch these two videos for a different take on the matter. Observe the mind control in the second one. Pray about it.

I would never join the armed forces.. My kingdom is not of this world and i do not engage in carnal combat..

(Ephesians 6:12) "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

(2 Corinthians 10:4) "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;"

I messed up and linked the wrong analysis of Private Ryan. That one is okay. But this is the one I meant to post. The movie was TOTAL MIND CONTROL. I fell for it myself. And for that I am truly ashamed. OP, watch this one. Don't let them control your mind.

Maybe you would change your mind if an enemy threatened your family and neighbors?

Thank you for your service!, Based on what iv'e heard about the vietnam war, I regret the conditions of the war and lack of support from home you recieved. Yet at the same time I am thankful, that brave men like you exist(ed), and that they are/were able to fight for our freedom.