"FRIENDLY FIRE": Euphemism of war or everyday truth

“If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus”. Phil 2:1-5


Reading the newspapers and following the news on Iraq and Afghanistan, there is certain military terminology that has caught my attention, such as "friendly fire" and "collateral damage", and I wonder how could "fire" possibly be "friendly"?. Then I found out that the Army started using this term during the Vietnam War to name those mistakes which have harmed innocent people and residential areas in a more acceptable way giving them less importance. Nowadays, this term is widely used throughout the world.

How many times do we try to justify a lie colouring it as "white"? How much could we harm someone and then justify it saying "Sorry, I thought you were somebody else" or "Sorry, you were in my way so I had no choice" and walk away as nothing has happened.

Fortunately, we are far from seeing this kind of behaviour in the Body of Christ, each and every member is considered as an unique part of the whole according to the grace that has been given by our Father in heaven through his only Son and Spirit.

We are certainly human beings who make mistakes more often than we would like to, however, we have been called to name "good" what is good and "evil" what is evil. Making mistakes is only a door that can lead us to two different paths, our freewill allows us to choose the one we feel more comfortable to walk upon.

“Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing”.
1Peter 3:8-9