Wingmen

This is the “Why” that I wrote the book Rules of Engagment.
As I approached 40 years of age, I started to look back upon my life and I became very reflective.  I asked myself one question, “Why?”  Why did I do what I did and why had I taken the path in life that I did.  I could really relate to what King Solomon must have been contemplating in the later part of his life.  As some would say I had an ecclesiastical state of mind.  Up to that point, I had done everything that I put my hand to.  I was a star athlete and student in high school, Unanimous All- America in college, Air Force fighter pilot with 45 missions in Northern Iraq, 3 time Super Bowl Champion with a nine year career with America’s Team (you either love ‘em or hate ‘em) the Dallas Cowboys.  But it took a major trial in my life with the heath of my son that made me realize that I wasn’t in control and that the “things” that I had accomplished were just that – “things.”  The priorities that I started my adult life pursuing, that I thought were important for me, my wife and kids, and my career—weren’t all that important—they were temporal.  Life has a funny way of taking turns.  I was at a crossroads in my whole thought process – my perception of realty was changing focus.  The lens that I viewed the world through was becoming clearer.
During this time of reflection, I was reading a lot of historical works – both theological and political.  I looked at myself and the world around me and I was seeing a “dumbing down” of our Judeo –Christian belief system and the history of our nation.  I was seeing mistakes being made that we as a people have made in our past—time and time again.  It reminded me of the old saying that I heard many times when flying A-10’s – “Don’t bust your R.O.E. - Rules of Engagement.”  These were “rules” that were there for our safety.  A lot of pilots speak of them as being written in blood because at one time someone busted a rule and it cost him his life.  Then the “idea” light bulb went on—God has set up His creation with certain ROE and that if we bust them –we get hurt. After playing football for 19 years and taking a few blows to the head, it takes a while for things to sink in.  At least that is my excuse – more likely it is because I am a man and just wired to be hard headed but that is another story.  God gave us freedom – freedom of choice.  For example, we can choose to worship Him or not.  We can choose to follow the path of our own selfish indulgence or follow His.  We can choose to walk beside others and share our burdens or go it alone.  That is what this book is about and the reason why I wrote it.  I looked around my life and saw the times I busted God’s ROE and how it affected me.  I was forgiven for the mistakes that I made and I felt His grace but I was still accountable for my actions.  I wanted to write something that I could not only hand to my kids but to other men that would be something for them to learn from—to prevent them from making the same mistakes that I made – to not bust the ROE that God has put in place.  We all have a “story” to tell.  This one is mine.
In closing, we all need to remember that God is God and can’t be explained in simplified terms.  You can go as deep as the ocean or as shallow as a rain puddle in your pursuit of Him.  But that doesn’t change the fact that we were created with one purpose in mind—to glorify and worship Him.  That is the main rule that all men must follow.