I watched my grandson playing a video game. He needed to defend against an attack. So he crammed as much TNT as he could into a minefield.

I wondered about the wisdom of what my grandson was doing. But I didn’t say anything. My grandson knows much more about playing video games than I do. Plus, it’s only a game.

Unfortunately, my instincts were right. When his enemies attacked, the explosion was so intense and immense that it didn’t just kill his enemies. It killed my grandson!

He respawned. Now that he was wiser, he deployed much less TNT. And he was much more careful about how close he put the TNT to himself.

It got me thinking about nuclear weapons.

We defer to the military about how many nuclear weapons we “need”. After all, we hope and pray that they know much more about nuclear weapons than we do.

We defer to the military about where it is best to put them. After all, we hope and pray that they know much more about nuclear weapons than we do.

Should we put nuclear weapons in missiles silos deep underground within the United States itself?

Or on short-range cruise missiles stored within a few hundred miles of potential enemies?

Or on bombers that are hard to detect and destroy—at least if we keep some of them flying at all times?

Or on submarines sailing deep under the ocean—hard for enemies to find and destroy, but also hard for us to communicate with so we can tell them to launch (or not to launch their missiles!) and so we can tell them which cities and other targets to destroy?

Or in all four places, reducing the risk that a sneak attack such as Pearl Harbor could destroy all of our nuclear weapons, but increasing the risk that traitors, terrorists, faulty software, or a “simple” accident could cause an unauthorized use of our nuclear weapons?

Should we threaten massive retaliation—mutual assured destruction (known by its acronym MAD)?

Should we be the first nation to attack a potential enemy’s nuclear weapons, hoping to destroy most of them before they can be launched, and relying on our anti-missile and anti-aircraft defenses to keep us safe from the enemy’s remaining nuclear weapons?

Should we use “tactical” nuclear weapons (roughly as powerful as the bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki), hoping we can win a “hybrid” war that is fought with conventional weapons and nuclear weapons, plus cyberattacks, and maybe even biological weapons?

According to press reports, a recent analysis determined that if Pakistan and India had a nuclear war, the resulting climate effects would kill about a third of Humanity’s 8 billion people within a few years—mostly through famine. More than 2 billion people!

If more “optimistic” assumptions are used, “only” one-sixth of Humanity’s 8 billion people would die—a “mere” 1 billion or so people!

If a nuclear war involved the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals—possessed by Russia and the United States—casualty estimates become even harder to calculate. But let’s say the effects are “only” twice as bad as in a nuclear war involving the much smaller nuclear arsenals of Pakistan and India.

In that case, we’re looking at 2 to 4 billion dead people! And quite possibly far more people when you consider the long term effects from destroying the infrastructure and ideals of civilization.

We defer to the military and to a few elected leaders about the best strategies and tactics for using nuclear weapons. After all, we hope and pray that they know much more about nuclear weapons than we do.

Surely, this awesome responsibility is one of the reasons we should pray without ceasing for leaders of our nation (and of other nations) to be wise so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives. (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

When I was watching my grandson play his video game, I should have followed my instincts—even though he usually is much better at video games than I am.

Nevertheless, I should have warned him that I feared he was packing too much TNT onto the game board.

I should have warned him that I feared he would be destroyed along with his enemies if he foolishly tried to “defend” himself and “defeat” his enemies by packing more and more TNT onto the game board.

How much more should we follow our instincts that Humanity is packing the world’s military-game-board with too many nuclear weapons?

Instead of “defending” ourselves and “defeating” our potential enemies, we risk destroying ourselves and defeating all Humanity by destruction that is so intense and so immense.

We need to pray that the Spirit of the LORD will elect to give Humanity the wisdom needed to cut these days short, lest no one—and no civilization—survives. (Matthew 24:22; Mark 13:20).

And how can we find the wisdom to cut short these days?

By striking first!

No. Not by striking first with weapons of war. But by striking first with the fruit of the Spirit of the LORD: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, goodness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23).

By striking first in the Way of Jesus:

—the Way that is not led astray by the Power of Money, the Power of Religion, or the Power of the Kingdoms of the World. (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13).

—the Way that gives us abundant lives that we fully enjoy! (John 10:10).

—the Way that is patient.

—the Way that is kind.

—the Way that does not envy or boast.

—the Way that is not proud.

—the Way that does not dishonor others.

—the Way that is not self-seeking.

—the Way that is not easily angered.

—the Way that keeps no record of wrongs.

—the Way that does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

—the Way that always protects, always hopes, always trusts, always perseveres.

—the Way of love that never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).

—the Way that fulfills the ideals of the Law of Moses and of the Prophets of Ancient Israel (Matthew 5:17).

—the Way that:

—justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream (Amos 5:24);

—no one takes up sword against anyone anymore;

—no one trains for war anymore; and

—all Humanity beats their plows into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. (Isaiah 2:4).

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For my thoughts about establishing Peace, please read my blogs “June 1962”, “Blessed Are the Peacemakers”, “Ending Violence: Putting Faces with Names”, “Ending Violence: Embracing the Spirit of Peace”, “Curtailing Force: Replacing Nails with Glue”, “Spilling Coffee”, “Chess Lessons: Playing for a Draw”, “Game Lessons: Sustainable Risk”, “Pandemic Wisdom: Multiple Choice Exams & No-Win-Scenarios”, “Deceptive-Drawings-Designed-To-Deceive-and-Divide”, “We Need Inspiring Visions of a Bright Future. Why?”, “Nationalism Is Patriotism Gone Astray”, and “Establishing Peace Without Limit”.

For related thoughts, please read my blogs “Jesus Climbs the Temple Mount”, “Nationalism is Patriotism Gone Astray”, “Keeping the Powers of Money, Religion and Kingdoms Separate”, and “How Do We Build a Civilization That Is Good—That Is Very Good?”.

For more of my thoughts about the need for systems of laws and customs to combat hatred, racism and violence, please read my blogs “Spilling Coffee”, “Individuals and Systems, Now and Forever, One and Inseparable”, and “The Webb Space Telescope: Many Parts, One System”.

For additional thoughts inspired by my grandson, please read my blogs “The Christmas Star: I Saw It in Real Life!”, “Honoring God with Only Our Lips”, “What Makes a Hero Good?”, “Video Game Strategy: Getting Crucified”, “Sprouting Seeds Takes Patience”, “Birthdays”, “I Love You Gram. Bye!”, “Let the Creator Show and Tell Me What To Do”, “New Teeth: In Our Lives”, and “New Teeth: In Our Civilizations”.