What is Moral Injury?
“Moral injury is a wound in the soul, an inner conflict based on a moral evaluation of having inflicted or witnessed harm...Moral injury can result not only from active behavior, such as torturing or killing, but also from witnessing a close friend be slain...it can also involve feeling betrayed by persons in authority.”
Brock & Lettini, Soul Repair
Statistics show that Military Service Members and First Responders can be deeply impacted by moral injurious events throughout their time in service. Examples of moral injury could include when a person acts out of rage and later deeply regrets their actions, or when a person
feels they didn't do enough to save a person in their care. Betrayal by those in authority, such as happened during the Vietnam War, is an example of moral injury that is caused by others. These events go beyond the effects of trauma and present a deep spiritual wound in the soul. Moral injuries are not limited to those who serve in the military or public safety roles. Like trauma, moral injury can impact anyone.
Symptoms of Moral Injury
Symptoms of moral injury can be similar to PTS:
Questioning one's faith/beliefs
Anger
Guilt or shame
Inability to forgive oneself or another
Thoughts of suicide
Questioning whether there is a God
Thoughts of suicide
Questioning whether there is a God
Is Moral Injury the same as Trauma?
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) describes trauma as a "result from an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or life threatening and that has lasting adverse effects on the individual’s functioning and mental, physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being."
Trauma can happen for a variety of reasons, not just from exposure to a combat zone. Post-traumatic stress occurs when our minds struggle to process what has been experienced, leaving us stuck in the experience. Moral injury differs from trauma in that it is how the trauma is mentally, emotionally, and spiritually processed. When that response violates our sense of right and wrong, a wound of the soul occurs. Trauma occurs from an outside event and impacts the mind and body. Moral injury is a spiritual wound that can occur when a person responds to a situation that violates their conscience or moral code. Trauma can be present without moral injury and moral injury can be present without trauma.
Moral Injury is a spiritual wound that can often accompany trauma.
Healing & Resolution
God's Word / Community | Stay spiritually nourished by regularly studying God's Word and actively participating in your church community.
Vocation / Forgiveness | God's Word affirms the warrior's vocation, viewing them as his servants. Taking lives in the line of duty is not inherently sinful. Fellow Christian warriors can provide support, reminding them of their high calling and God's forgiveness, especially when struggling to forgive themselves.
Trauma-informed Christian Counseling | Healing comes from God, who has given us powerful minds. Combining spiritual wisdom with mental understanding can help with processing trauma and moral injuries.
Vocation / Forgiveness | God's Word affirms the warrior's vocation, viewing them as his servants. Taking lives in the line of duty is not inherently sinful. Fellow Christian warriors can provide support, reminding them of their high calling and God's forgiveness, especially when struggling to forgive themselves.
Trauma-informed Christian Counseling | Healing comes from God, who has given us powerful minds. Combining spiritual wisdom with mental understanding can help with processing trauma and moral injuries.
Finding Forgiveness
Moral injury can result in a person feeling like there is no forgiveness for what they did, either from themselves or from their Savior. God's grace reaches the deepest hurts. The gospel prevails to provide healing. Consider the following points if you struggle with moral injury:
- Review God's promises that he is in control. This might mean that you cannot change the outcome, but it does not mean that God leaves you alone in the situation.
- Use the gift of lament. Bring all your pain into the open before God and leave it at his feet. He welcomes you as you are, in your anger, despair, and pain.
- Acknowledge it. It is important that you acknowledge your injury and to be heard by others whom you trust that have a listening heart.
- Practice self-care. Allow yourself grace as you move through the healing process. It takes time and courage. Go for walks outside, journal, or take up art.
- Remember and rest in God's grace. He loves you and delights in you! You are not alone (Zephaniah 3:17). You are forgiven!
Resources for Moral Injury
LMSG Resources
Lutheran Military Support Group is available for presentations on moral injuries and trauma to churches and organizations that are interested in learning more about this topic or better supporting those impacted in their local communities. Email info@lutheranmilitary.org to request a presentation. Other Christ-centered support includes:
Spiritual Retreats for Christian Warriors
Workshops for Veterans & First Responders
Access to Christian Counseling
Moral Injury Infographic
Agents of Wrath Infographic
Spiritual Retreats for Christian Warriors
Workshops for Veterans & First Responders
Access to Christian Counseling
Moral Injury Infographic
Agents of Wrath Infographic
Deep as the Sea
This book is not a devotional or self-help guide, but a carefully written walkthrough of the healing process. Using his doctoral expertise on addressing trauma through a Christian lens, Pastor Timothy Bourman will help you grieve through the pain, find refuge in God, and discover a new purpose in life. Pastor Bourman provides an overview of current psychological treatment models and many comforting Scripture readings to address the grief, sorrow, shame, anger, and other emotions that accompany traumatic events.
Soul Repair
Brock and Lettini take a close look at what moral injury is and how to heal this deep-seated damage. This book explores the impact of moral injuries on families and what strategies and processes have helped Service Members recover from the impact of moral injuries caused by war. This is an excellent resource for Veterans, their family members, or pastors that would like to better understand and support those dealing with a moral injury.
