War Is Not an Excursion

A Reflection on Excursions, Lobster Tails, Luxury Resorts, and the Cost of Conflict

A complementary piece to  Biblically Unjust Wars - The Hippocratic Party TM

War has always tempted nations to imagine it as something manageable—brief, contained, strategic, even exciting. The language surrounding it often sounds more like planning a weekend outing than unleashing violence.

Scripture, however, offers a far more sobering view. James teaches that conflict springs from the cravings and desires inside us—those inner battles of pride, envy, and selfish ambition that eventually spill outward into violence (James 4:1). See PRIDE AND HUMILITY: WHERE DO YOU STAND - THE HIPPOCRATIC PARTY TM

According to the Bible, war is not an adventure.

It is the outward eruption of inward sin.

War is not an excursion.

But the way we talk about it sometimes suggests otherwise.

When War Starts Looking Like an Excursion

If war is described as an excursion, one might reasonably wonder whether someone in the planning room accidentally opened a travel brochure instead of a strategy manual.

Excursions involve comfortable seating, good meals, and pleasant surroundings. And, from time to time, reports about government spending near the defense establishment have raised eyebrows for resembling exactly that.

Audits have revealed stories about expensive furniture purchases, conference catering that could rival an upscale restaurant, and procurement processes capable of turning ordinary office equipment into something priced like a museum exhibit.

Taxpayers occasionally read headlines about premium steaks, lobster tails at official functions, or office décor costing more than most Americans spend furnishing an entire home.

Of course, feeding personnel and furnishing offices are legitimate needs. Even generals require chairs. No army marches very far without logistics.

Still, the optics are difficult to ignore.

For the soldier in a muddy trench, there is no lobster tail.

For the Marine on patrol in the desert, the menu does not include ribeye steak.

For the pilot flying into danger, the décor is the inside of a cockpit.

War, at the ground level, looks less like a catered conference and more like exhaustion, uncertainty, and the constant awareness that life can change in an instant.

Meanwhile, decisions that send young men and women into danger are debated in comfortable rooms around polished tables.

The prophet Amos once condemned leaders who lounged in luxury while remaining unmoved by the suffering of their people—comfortable bodies paired with calloused hearts (Amos 6:4–6).

When discussions of war begin to resemble planning a catered outing, something spiritually dangerous has occurred.

War is not a banquet in a ballroom.

It is certainly not an excursion.

The Excursion Mindset Meets the Pentagon Menu

If excursions have snacks, the Department of War (rebranded as “Defense” in the same way casinos call themselves “resorts”) has a menu.

And it is impressive.

Over the months, audits have revealed:

  • $4.6 million in lobster tails and crab legs
  • $2.3 million in premium steaks
  • $293,245 in “specialty coffee cups”
  • $12,000 for a custom-made piano
  • Millions more in luxury furniture and décor

Apparently, modern warfare requires surf‑and‑turf.

Imagine telling your church missions committee you need $1.2 million for “decorative furnishings” for your next trip to Guatemala. They’d lay hands on you—not in prayer.

Even Solomon, with all his splendor, never thought to budget for a $12,000 piano.

Jesus once fed thousands with a simple meal of bread and fish, and afterward He told His disciples to gather up the leftovers so nothing would be wasted (John 6:12). Meanwhile, our war‑making apparatus gathers up invoices so nothing will be questioned.

One of these looks like the Kingdom of God.

The other looks like Pharaoh with a procurement card.

When War Planning Looks Like a Weekend at the Resort

There is another layer to the excursion mindset—one that would have baffled the prophets and likely caused Jesus to overturn a few more tables.

In recent years, news outlets have documented instances where large political meetings, conferences, and official gatherings were held at a leader’s own luxury resort, with taxpayer dollars or political funds flowing directly into that leader’s private business.

These reports describe:

  • Government staff staying at properties owned by the leader
  • Security details billed at premium resort rates
  • Official events hosted in ballrooms that doubled as revenue streams
  • Taxpayer money effectively routed into the leader’s personal pocketbook

It is one thing for war to be discussed in comfortable rooms.

It is another for those rooms to be located inside a leader’s own resort, complete with golf carts, chandeliers, and a gift shop.

The optics would have made Amos choke on his locusts.

The prophet once condemned leaders who “reclined on ivory couches” while ignoring the suffering of their people (Amos 6:4–6).

He might have added: “and who bill the nation for the privilege.”

When the planning of war or national policy takes place in a setting designed to enrich the leader personally, the line between public service and private gain becomes dangerously thin.

When Both Tribes Feast at the Same Table

For all their public disagreements, both major political tribes—Republicans and Democrats—have repeatedly benefited from financial opportunities tied to insider knowledge, especially during wartime.

Public reporting has documented patterns where lawmakers from both parties made well‑timed stock trades shortly before or after:

  • classified briefings
  • military escalations
  • sanctions announcements
  • defense appropriations
  • or major foreign policy shifts

In times of war or rising tensions, defense stocks often spike.

Oil prices often surge.

And somehow, mysteriously, members of both tribes seem to have portfolios that anticipate these movements with uncanny precision.

It is almost as if the excursion has a gift shop—and everyone in Washington knows exactly when the sale starts.

James teaches that conflict springs from the cravings inside us—our desire for gain, advantage, and control (James 4:1).

And when those cravings intersect with political power, the temptation becomes even more dangerous.

The Hippocratic PartyTM ’s Governance Proposal: A Different Way

This is precisely why the Governance Platform - THE HIPPOCRATIC PARTY™ proposes strict, uncompromising rules for anyone entrusted with public authority.

Under this proposal, the following individuals would be prohibited from engaging in financial behavior that exploits insider access:

  • Elected officials
  • Senate‑confirmed officials
  • Their spouses, children, parents, siblings, in‑laws
  • Anyone who might “accidentally overhear” something at Thanksgiving

And these individuals may not:

  • Buy or sell equities
  • Buy or sell fixed‑income instruments (except U.S. Treasuries)
  • Engage in business transactions with any foreign company or foreign‑controlled entity
  • Participate in “blind trusts” that are only blind metaphorically
  • Use shell companies, LLCs, or “consulting firms” created after midnight on a Sunday

In other words:

If you want to serve the public, you cannot profit from the public.

This is not radical.

This is biblical.

Samuel’s sons were condemned because they “turned aside after dishonest gain” (1 Samuel 8:3).

Nehemiah refused the perks of office because he feared God and did not want to burden the people (Nehemiah 5:14–15).

Ezekiel rebuked shepherds who fed themselves instead of the flock (Ezekiel 34:2–4).

Jesus warned against leaders who “devoured widows’ houses” while maintaining the appearance of righteousness (Mark 12:40).

The Hippocratic PartyTM’s proposal simply applies ancient wisdom to modern temptation.

Incursions Excursions and Honest Language

In modern political discussions, the word incursion sometimes appears as a way of describing smaller military actions.

The word itself suggests something limited—something that might remain contained.

But history warns us that even small incursions can become large wars.

Language matters.

Jesus once confronted religious leaders who used pious language to mask corruption. He called them a brood of vipers—people who hid moral decay behind religious vocabulary (Matthew 23:33).

Political language can fall into the same trap when it sanitizes the reality of violence.

The False Peacemaker

There is another temptation that appears throughout history: the leader who begins a conflict and later claims credit for ending it.

The script is familiar.

First comes escalation.

Then comes destruction.

Finally comes a press conference announcing the arrival of peace.

Isaiah warned against those who twist moral categories until good and evil trade places (Isaiah 5:20).

Starting a war and later celebrating its conclusion resembles someone injuring his neighbor and demanding praise for bringing the bandages.

True peacemakers seek peace before the missiles fly (Matthew 5:9).

Counting the Cost

Jesus once described a king who, before going to battle, sits down and carefully considers whether he has the resources to proceed (Luke 14:31).

Wise leaders count the cost.

War cannot simply be canceled halfway through.

Once begun, it unleashes consequences that ripple through generations.

Every conflict produces widows, orphans, refugees, and graves.

The Prophets and the Machinery of War

Isaiah condemned nations that trusted in horses and chariots—military might—rather than in God (Isaiah 31:1).

Micah envisioned a day when nations would beat their swords into plowshares (Micah 4:3).

Jeremiah rebuked leaders who cried “Peace, peace” when there was no peace (Jeremiah 6:14).

Whenever war begins to sound routine, the prophets remind us that God sees through the rhetoric.

The Human Cost

Every soldier, every civilian, every casualty is a human being created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27).

Lamentations describes the aftermath of war in haunting detail: cities emptied, people grieving, tears flowing in the night (Lamentations 1:1–2).

Excursions end with photographs and souvenirs.

Wars end with memorials.

The Excursion Christ Actually Offers

Jesus does invite His followers on an excursion—but it is not an excursion into conflict.

It is the excursion of reconciliation.

The excursion of enemy‑love.

The excursion of cross‑bearing.

The excursion of peacemaking in a world addicted to violence.

This is the only excursion that heals rather than harms.

The only one that reflects the heart of the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

It is the only excursion that does not end in graves.