Are we waging an unwinnable war? We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 It seems we have won the war in Iraq; but thats all we know for sure. Saddam Husseins suspected weapons of mass destruction the original purpose for the invasion have still not surfaced in plain sight. Nor has Saddam, but that hardly matters now that the Iraqi people are free from his brutal oppression. Now, the Iraqis most of them anyway want us to take our brave soldiers and awesome weapons, our diplomats and good intentions, and leave their oil-rich country. But not so fast. We still have to win the peace. And we still have a war to fight in that region, a war against the terrorism that continues to claim lives in horrific bombings. What perplexes and persecutes us to no end are the seemingly unwinnable wars, the afflictions we cant find satisfactory answers for, even as they continue to take their toll on our lives. Globally, that may be terrorism or rampant starvation, disease and illiteracy. On the home front, we face dire afflictions as well, such as the unrelenting scourge of substance abuse, drug trafficking and related offenses, including violence, larceny, child abandonment and prostitution. In Baltimore, a city notorious in recent years as the heroin capital of the nation, some credible voices several of them United Methodist are saying the war on illegal drugs is over, and we have lost. Not that we are losing, but that we have lost. They say we have criminalized and penalized drug abuse to the extent that war is being waged too harshly on the people who abuse drugs and not sufficiently on the problem itself, which is the disease of addiction. A recent Baltimore Sun story on Mayor Martin OMalleys performance as he looks toward the September mayoral election primary offers a different view. It cites statistics that strongly suggest his dual policies of vigorous law enforcement and support for addiction treatment are working. There is some disagreement over whether the zero-tolerance crackdown by police, which for many amounts to harassment, has really curtailed illegal drug activity on the mean streets of Charm City, or merely made it less visible. But reports of drug-related arrests and people being treated for addiction are both up about 60 percent, according to the article, and drug-related deaths and hospital visits are down significantly. The mayor and his capable health commissioner, Dr. Peter Beilenson, get most of the credit for these apparent feats, although theres no argument that Baltimore continues to have one of the worst drug problems in the nation. Yet, it is good to see churches also stepping up to take responsibility for fighting this war. For example, New Life Evangelical Baptist Church plans to open a city-funded heroin treatment clinic this month and begin offering methadone to 200 addicts. It is one of several churches responding to Baltimores crisis. United Methodist churches will partner with the Baltimore-Washington Conference to operate Saving Stations again this summer. Most of the effort and resources will be focused on Milton and Oliver Streets in Northeast Baltimore (see map on page 13), where the vibrant tent ministries will offer addicted people a refuge to find deliverance from drugs and salvation from sin. The ministry will also open Hesed House to provide transitional shelter to addicts awaiting openings in treatment centers. Clearly, if the war on drugs is lost, some stalwart Christians havent received the terms of surrender. They plan to keep on fighting, staying on the battlefield for their Lord. They will seek to win as many battles and save as many lives as possible. And in the meantime, not after but during their fight against the human devastation caused by drug addiction, they will also seek to win the peace and by repairing and restoring the broken lives left in the wake of this crisis. While the citys help would be much appreciated, Im sure, the volunteers who minister to their sisters and brothers at Saving Stations and other church locations know from whence cometh their real support: But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.
2 Corinthians 4:7 | 
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