Since 1940, the United States has spent more than $20 trillion to build the most destructive military power ever known to humankind.

Increasingly, the United States has not placed its trust in God--as our money proudly boasts--but in weapons of war. The wood and metal-crafted idols of biblical times have been replaced by sophisticated metal-twisted technology--cruise missiles, "smart" bombs and stealth fighter jets.

Isaiah mocks those who make and trust idols. "Half of [the log the idol-maker] burns in the fire," he ridicules. "Over this half he roasts meat, eats it and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, 'Ah, I am warm, I can feel the fire!' The rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, bows down to it and worships it; he prays to it and says, 'Save me, for you are my god'"(44:16-17).

But isn't idolatry harmless folly? Hardly. According to the Bible, when we make or trust idols, we:

• Rob resources that are better used elsewhere. Building idols is poor stewardship of resources that God intends for sustaining life. Ironically, the part of the log that is not shaped into an idol produces the greatest good. The first portion gives the man warmth and satisfies him with food. The idol offers nothing of benefit. It is a wasted resource. During the same period in which the U.S. government spent some $20 trillion on its military, it has invested only $4 tril-lion of federal income tax dollars on health care, less than $2 trillion each on transportation and education, and about $1 trillion on agriculture.
• Waste our gifts. Isaiah charges that those who make idols are nothing and will be put to shame (44:9). He uses the same word that describes the chaos before creation, "formless and void" (Genesis 1:2). Sadly, many of the best human minds of our generation have been focused on designing weapons capable of unimaginable chaos.
• Delude ourselves. Over time, those who make and worship idols begin to believe in the power of their idols. Isaiah says they become deluded and lack discernment (44:18-20). What else could explain the lavish U.S. spending on weapons, while the social fabric of our country unravels?
• Become like our idols. The psalmist observes, "Those who make [idols] and all who trust them shall become like them" (Ps. 135:18). Ultimately, we take on the character of that which we trust. One of the reasons for the extraordinary level of violence in the United States must certainly be bow-ing for too long to the god of militarism-the god of lethal power. We have trusted insanely violent weapons to save us, and we have become a violent nation. Several years ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report which found that the United States has the highest rates of childhood homicide, suicide and firearms-related deaths of any of the world's 26 richest nations.

The Bible offers other reasons why militarism is a problem:

• It violates Jesus' teaching and example. Jesus taught his followers to love their enemies. (Matthew 5:43-48). Jesus practiced this ethic as well (1 Peter 2:21-23). Loving enemies expresses our trust in God (Psalm 31:14-15).
• It plants seeds of war, not peace. Militarism is short-sighted and cannot create the long-term conditions for peace. Paul writes that loving enemies is the only way to overcome evil, rather than to simply suppress evil for a time (Romans 12:19-21).

But does this biblical call to love enemies apply only to Christians or to the nations as well? Some, quoting Romans 13:1-7, would say that God intends nations to suppress evil, using lethal force if necessary.

While Romans 13 speaks of an ordering function of government, its focus on punishing "the wrongdoer" seems to sug-gest a policing role and judicial processes. This text should not be used as a blanket authorization for war, where thousands of innocent civilians are killed in an attempt to root out wrongdoers.

Indeed, nations loving enemies is the vision toward which God is moving history. The prophets Isaiah and Micah speak of the day when nations will beat swords into plowshares and learn war no more (Isaiah 2:4, Micah 4:3).