Collateral damage is any death, injury, or other damage inflicted that is an unintended result of military operations. It’s a terrible tragedy that can hurt or even kill those affected by it, demoralize your forces and devastate the one who caused the mistake. Collateral damage is a clear victory for your enemy because of the harm it does to your side. That is why well-trained and disciplined military units take extreme measures to avoid collateral damage.
I see this happening almost daily in political circles, but there is little remorse involved. When angry politicians strike out against the opposition party they wind up hurting their supporters. With a desire to get the upper hand they oppose anything the other party is trying to do and hurt more people then they intended. Are they sorry for hurting so many? Sometimes they will apologize, but more often they place the blame on the opposition.
One example is in illegal immigration. Their aggressive opposition to reform encouraged hundreds of thousands of desperate people to illegally enter our country and overwhelm our Border Patrol and courts. The immigrants have to be released pending their court dates and the influx of willing workers, drive down wages. Already stretched social services can’t keep up. Law enforcement and immigration officials are so overwhelmed that dangerous criminals and gang members are able to make it through with those seeking a better life. It’s the citizens that end up as collateral damage. They suffer during the initial influx and will continue paying the price for years, as politicians continue their attacks on the demoralized officials who have to deal with the results.
Another example is when Christians attack one another over their beliefs. Even if the attacker sincerely thinks they are correcting error, the casualties of these un-Holy wars are usually the ones they should be drawing to JESUS. This type of infighting drives Christians out of the Church and keeps the lost from looking to them for answers. Error should be corrected, but it must be done in love and with a lot of help from the HOLY SPIRIT. If not it can do more harm than good.
Satan doesn’t cause collateral damage, because he comes “to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10 KJV). He wants to hurt as many as possible and doesn’t care if you are the primary target or get hurt as collateral damage when he attacks another.
GOD doesn’t cause collateral damage because He “so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 KJV). Everyone is included in His precious offer and the only ones hurt are those who reject His Son. Though JESUS died to cleanse us from our sins, He wasn’t collateral damage. He was “slain from the foundations of the world” (Rev 13:8). He wasn’t a casualty of the conflict, but a willing sacrifice and an integral part of GOD’s plan of salvation. That’s how much He loves you and me! “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him” (Psalms 34:8 KJV)!
Wayne Lance (2019)