The Real War

Dear Thomas, 

As I look back on that day some 30 years ago, when our first crop made it to harvest, I remember thinking how you had your whole life in front of you. Later you say, you wish you could fight for your country just like your father did, but I never told you everything I did during the war. Tonight I want to tell you the truth.

The revolution never ends. It was hallowed as a triumph of the righteous over the wicked. But the battle lines were not clearly drawn. The real war, the one between good and evil, was fought within ourselves.

How else to explain that Robert Rogers, a man who tried to kill me, taught me the trick that saved our crop and thus our family? Or that Edmund Hewlett, a man I tried to kill, became a great man of science?

The hated Colonel Simcoe, now Governor Simcoe (of Upper Canada), abolished slavery in his province. The man, who took your grandfather from us, who oppressed so many colonists, gave freedom to generations of others.

These contradictions tortured me for years…

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Abraham Woodhull’s letter to his son Thomas, shown here in part, ended the four-season show called Turn: Washington’s Spies.

The series, produced by AMC (2014-2017) is based on Alexander Rose’s book, Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring (2007)—the true story of the Culper Ring.

The period is 1776 to 1781. Long Island farmer, Abe Woodhull and three childhood friends formed an unlikely spy ring, which eventually helped turn the tide during the American Revolutionary War.

Humbled by their sacrifices, I felt in awe that our fledging nation prevailed against such odds.

Woodhull’s reflections on the lessons of war constitute the most important takeaway of the show…

The real war, the one between good and evil, was fought within ourselves.

For us—right now—this is a searing word of truth. In any clash of human beings, things are not as cut and dried as we’d like to think. Woodhull grappled with the contradiction of goodness that surfaced in men he considered archenemies.

We can have righteous goals, but fail to win “the real war,” if we choose evil means to attain them—a genuine temptation in any struggle.

We can hide evil—such as bitterness—in our hearts, yet be transformed through suffering to ultimately choose good.

Such is the story of John Graves Simcoe, a colonel of the British army. As portrayed through Turn, Simcoe is a terrifyingly brutal man. Countless times, he savagely kills anyone in his way and would’ve been a war criminal by our standards. His list of enemies grows on both sides—Patriots and British. As I watched the show, I longed for someone to take him out.

(Spoiler alert…) But near the end, Simcoe appears to be mortally wounded and is told to put his affairs in order. Finally, the dreaded Simcoe will die! Yet something happens to him as he lies upon a deathbed. Something deep within seems to shift, and miraculously, he recovers. As the war ends, Simcoe is assigned a leadership role in the province of Ontario. The show tells only some of his accomplishments.

In real life, Simcoe founded York (now Toronto) and introduced institutions such as courts of law, trial by jury, English common law, freehold land tenure, and most notably, the abolition of slavery (long before its abolition in England or the United States). He is regarded by Canadians as a founding figure in their history and is commemorated annually with Simcoe Day in Toronto.

Incredible. Who am I to judge what lies in the heart of any man or woman?

It comes down to the real war, the one between good and evil, the individual choices fought within us—before God, not men. Will we win this struggle? It begins with hating what God hates…

^“There are six things which the Lord hates,
Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him:
Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
And hands that shed innocent blood,
 A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that run rapidly to evil,
A false witness who utters lies,
And one who spreads strife among brothers.”

— Proverbs 6:16-19, emphasis mine (NASB)

These seven things are raging in our day. For all our technology, science, education, medicine, and knowledge, the human condition remains. Especially strife. Defined as “angry or bitter disagreement over fundamental issues,” strife is the present climate of our culture.

And God hates the spreading of strife.

Will we condemn those we don’t like or disagree with? Will we turn violent in the name of good? Will we justify ruthless or lawless acts for the sake of the cause?

Or will we stay close to the heart of God and love what He loves?

Blessed are the peacemakers, the humble, the ones who bring unity…treating others as we want to be treated…listening in order to understand, even when it’s difficult to agree…understanding the balance of justice and mercy…choosing forgiveness and grace over bitterness…and praying instead of participating in shouting matches.

Will we represent the living God?

“For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”

—James 1:20 (ESV) 

What are your thoughts on the real war?