Uncle Sam Wants YOU!
Thursday, October 16, 2025
“Discipline done well is a form of love.” – Pastor Joe Moore
When I turned 18 in 1977, I didn’t register with the Selective Service System. Not because I wasn’t a patriotic American and not because I was a conscientious objector.
Simply put, as a result of Presidential Proclamation 4360, the Selective Service System was suspended effective April 1, 1975, and remained so until July 1980 when Presidential Proclamation 4771 was issued. The new proclamation required men to register with the Selective Service System within 30 days of their 18th birthday but only applied to men born in 1960 or later. Since I was born on September 30, 1959, the new law didn’t apply to me.
The fact of the matter is that after the end of the Vietnam War, the U.S. military was downsizing, not recruiting. And so, even if I wanted to enlist, I would have had a hard time doing so.
That being said, I think serving in the armed forces would have helped me grow up and mature much more quickly. Most of all, it would have taught me discipline, teamwork, and personal responsibility… lessons that I eventually learned elsewhere but could have picked up sooner via a hitch or two in the Army, Navy, or some other branch of the service.
Believe it or not, even Jesus learned discipline. Not in boot camp, but in the wilderness and through His many sufferings (see Hebrews 5:8 below). We, too, learn to obey God and persevere through the trials we experience in life (see Romans 5:4-5 below).
Although I never had the honor and privilege of serving in the military, I was raised by a World War II veteran who instilled in me some of the discipline he learned at basic training… as well as in the jungles of the South Pacific. I have also picked up more than a few pointers from my heavenly Father, who continues to chasten me as His child as needed (see Hebrews 12:3-11).
Trust me when I say that I am extremely grateful for both; and have tried to pass along some of those same lessons to our three children as well as to our six precious grandchildren. Why? Because as Pastor Joe Moore reminds us in today’s quote, discipline done well is a form of love… and I sure do love my kids and grandkids!
“Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered.” Hebrews 5:8 (BSB)
“Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Romans 5:4-5 (BSB)
- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President
