KEEPING FAITH WITH OUR VETERANS
Bob Dees
Director, LU Institute for Military Resilience
©2014 RFD LLC
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;”
(2 Timothy 4:7, NASB)
The Apostle Paul illustrated what it means to “keep the faith,” as did Abraham, Jesus, and
so many other giants of the faith that we have been privileged to observe in our own lives. The
“Hall of Heroes” in Hebrews 11 gives more examples of faithful servants of God whose
examples inspire us to keep the faith as well.
Just as it is important and admirable to keep faith with God, it is also important to keep
faith with others. A dictionary definition of faith (www.thefreedictionary.com) includes this
facet: Loyalty to a person or thing; allegiance: keeping faith with one's supporters. You may be
familiar with the verse in Proverbs 27:6 which states “Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.” In this context, we “keep faith with” others when we
lovingly convey truth which may cause temporary wounding with the objective of longer term
healing and growth. Jesus illustrated “keeping faith” with each of us in the ultimate and eternal
sense when He suffered to the point of death on our behalf: “Therefore Jesus also, that He
might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.” (Hebrews 13:12,
NASB)
The current Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) controversy is a relevant and timely
counterexample of this concept of keeping faith. If you are not familiar, there is a growing
“scandal” within the VA Health Care system in which ineptitude and fraud of national
proportions have been disclosed by VA whistleblowers and the families of veterans whose have
been directly impacted. As of this writing, the deaths of over 1,000 veterans in need of urgent
health care have been attributed to inordinate waits of over a year while corrupt VA officials in
an alarmingly widespread number of VA facilities have kept “shadow” waiting time records to
make the wait time statistics look favorable. While you can research this ongoing crisis in
veterans’ health care according to your own time and interests, the reality is that the Department
of Veterans Affairs has not “kept faith” with those great Americans who have served and
sacrificed in the military uniform of our nation. Prayerfully, this situation will be resolved
quickly and we can once again treat our nation’s deserving veterans with honor, respect, and
quality health care.
Conversely, I want to highlight Liberty University (LU) as a wonderful example
illustrating excellence in “keeping faith” with our nation’s veterans. As a Christ-centered and
highly patriotic educational institution, Liberty represents a national best practice in quality
educational services, beneficial outreach programs, and an overall “DNA” which renders honor
to our nation’s veterans and active duty military: “Render to all what is due them: … honor to
whom honor.” (Romans 13:7) While the ongoing VA crisis is a travesty, the competence,
consistency, and compassion which Liberty University exercises on behalf of our nation’s
uniformed servants of past and present (including their families) makes Liberty University a
national treasure. Whether it is benefits counseling through the Military Affairs Office, or
outreach events throughout the year which honor and serve LU military students, or ongoing
curriculum development and military research by the LU Institute for Military Resilience
(www.LUOnline.com/IMR), or the education and empowerment of military students in every
way possible by each Department and faculty member at LU, or the partnership with veterans
organizations such as IVET (Institute for Veterans Education and Training
www.IvetSolutions.org), or the unique support to LU military graduates seeking employment
through the LU Career Center and the LU Network; Liberty University truly models excellence
in honoring, affirming, empowering, and serving those who have sacrificed their freedoms and
well-being so that each of us may worship and work in a free America.
If you are an active duty military member, a military family member, or a veteran of military
service; you can do no better than Liberty University.
Respectfully in Christ,
Bob
Bob Dees
LU Institute for Military Resilience
www.LUOnline.com/IMR
What do YOU think about this???
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