Help! Love, MOM

By now, you have likely heard that Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was mistakenly invited to a Signal chat whose members are senior Trump administration officials. These high-ranking appointees conveyed information about what many in the defense community believe should have been a classified mission against the Houthis.

Signal is an American open-source messaging service that secures all communications via end-to-end encryption.

The Guardian reports that, while Signal is commonly thought to be the “gold standard for safety among [apps] that are commercially available,” concerns arise when the encrypted app is loaded onto a personal device that may, for example, have malware.

This is an especially elevated risk as one factors in the likelihood of bad actors specifically targeting the devices of high-ranking US officials.

Professor Alan Woodward, University of Surrey, as quoted in the Guardian, states, “All national security-related communications must meet three requirements: confidentiality – that they are secret; integrity – that nobody has intercepted and altered them; and authenticity – that you know exactly who you are communicating with. Personal devices do not meet this test because it is impossible to be certain that no spyware has been downloaded” (emphases added).

The only verified method of having secure conversations is to do so in “secure rooms with official phones.”

Professor Alan Woodward, University of Surrey

Despite the potential for loss of life, and known methods of engaging in secure communication, participants in the now infamously insecure chat included:

-Vice President J.D. Vance,

-Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth,

-Secretary of State Marco Rubio,

-National Security Advisor Michael Walz,

-Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard,

-CIA Director John Ratcliffe,

-White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles,

and, other top officials or their deputies for a total of 19 people.

In this chat, senior politicians candidly conveyed their generally negative point of view about our European allies, received updates, commented on, and congratulated the apparently victorious (if emojis count as comments of congratulations) US mission against the Houthis.

So, About the Houthis

According to The BBC, “The Houthis are an armed political and religious group that champions Yemen’s Shia Muslim minority, the Zaidis.”

The BBC continues that, “[The Houthis] were formally known as the Ansar Allah (Partisans of God), [and] the group emerged in the 1990s and takes its name from the movement’s late founder, Hussein al-Houthi. The current leader is his brother, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi.”

The BBC also reports that the Houthis have similar political leanings to other armed groups such as Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah in their opposition to America and American interests in the Middle East.

That opposition to America has been seen in the Houthis’ targeting of ships in the Red Sea, which has resulted in the hijacking of at least one commercial vessel, along with missile and drone attacks on another.

Houthi attacks have sunk two vessels, seized a third, and, sadly, killed mariners.

Lately, the Houthis appear to be inclined to harass US and UK sea craft, while in the past, they seemed to mainly attack those that were Israeli or Israeli-involved.

By now, all of this is well – known.

Why a Signal Chat?

Why isn’t the public — still — blissfully unaware of the inner workings of a planned attack on an enemy of the USA?

The Signal chat “went left” when the participants failed to realize that their service to the United States is first a call to greatness. Thus, the participants’ several lapses in taking part in the chat in the first place, that is, their choice to not to use secure, government-approved methods of communicating, and then obfuscating the true, classified nature of the chat are all evidence of this fundamental and profound lack of understanding and perception.

It’s as if the Signal chat members all forgot the great delight and commitment of being married to their spouses and, instead, started secretly meeting with new people away from the rightly inquisitive (incensed? hurt?) gaze of their partners.

But, in this instance, they didn’t forget their spouse they forgot that a call to service is a call to greatness; and, they forgot that greatness — like commitment to an amazing man or woman — makes some necessary demands on the called.

Therefore, the main concerns regarding the chat are neither primarily military nor political; although, clearly, the consequences potentially and actually have serious geopolitical and military importance.

For example, it appears that, the Signal chat group knew or should have known that the actions discussed in the chat would likely:

-play out on an international stage;

-incur life and death repercussions for American soldiers and airmen, and their supervisors as well for as our allies; for example, the British aided the US by refueling our planes mid-air for this mission;

-incur life and death repercussions for current enemies, and also that the chat would;

-have implications for American security interests going forward.

Then, when the unsecured chat came to light, key figures failed to show maturity, i.e., greatness of character, by admitting their error.

Again, I assert that the Signal chat group failed to understand that the call to serve in any capacity is a call to greatness.

This is the case both in how one will engage with the matter at hand, that is, serving the American people, and the manner in which that matter is managed, or in this case, mangled.

The Signal chat group appears to have what I am calling a “Greatness Gap.”

Military and Defense Community on Greatness

We can take the word of the military defense community in America and in partner nations who are chatting their surprise at the instructive nature of the chat.

“We don’t provide that level of information on unclassified systems, in order to protect the lives and safety of the service members carrying out these strikes. If we did, it would be wholly irresponsible. My most junior analysts know not to do this.”

A Defense Official regarding the severity of the leaked Signal chat, as reported by CNN

This official’s statement suggests that if the “most” junior analyst avoids being “irresponsible” and knows if, how, or when to convey “the matter,” i.e., classified information, certainly top-level officials should.

In other words, the defense department official implies that the “most junior analyst” knows how to serve well and, consequently, serves greatly, experiencing no “greatness gap.”

At its best, politics and other service positions foster the public good for present and future generations; at its worst, public service is a vehicle for political chicanery and social climbing, self-aggrandizement, and promotion, leading to public distrust and the undermining integral institutions.

We give the name “public servant” to those in government, often lamenting the lower pay scale relative to private sector employment.

For some titles, while we laud the nobility of the job, rarely do we commend the persons by commenting on the greatness of those serving in these positions unless they move on to the private sector, stand strong until the retirement party, or finally, footnote their greatness at their final farewell.

Rarely do we note the “common” greatness of showing up, DAILY, that is to say CONSISTENTLY to protect, defend, instruct, perform excellently in the face of relentless underfunding, dismissal and erasure.

We can deduce that the junior analyst serves with a degree of self control, an inner quality seen in the manner in which the officer serves superiors and the public.

Jesus has a word for us about what true greatness is:

Matthew 20:25-28 Modern English Version ²⁵ But Jesus called them to Him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. ²⁶ It shall not be so among you. Whoever would be great among you, let him serve you, ²⁷ and whoever would be first among you, let him be your slave, ²⁸ even as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

In other words, Jesus says that if you are called to serve, which arguably the persons in Signal chat have been, that service is, itself, irrespective of the job title, a call to greatness.

Who and what have you been called to serve beyond yourself? Self care is, of course, critical and crucial for your performance in this world.

Again, after you have taken care of yourself, who do you serve?

While Jesus spoke to the matter of service as a call to greatness, in another, related scripture, the Apostle Paul speaks to the manner in which the great serve.

Galatians 5:22-25 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

In Galatians 5:22-25, Paul contrasts the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—with the works of the flesh.

These virtues demand a shift away from selfishness to selflessness; they demand a shift toward service and greatness.

To truly embody greatness, we must first recognize that service is not optional; it is essential. This is true whether you are a Christian or not.

In the case of the Christian we serve as a sign of our love for what Christ has done for us in, graciously and miraculously loving us first, in dying for us the Sinless for the sinful, in forgiving us and so on.

We CANnot earn His divine favor. But out of love and gratitude we can serve Him by serving others.

As Christ exemplifies in Matthew 20:25-28, true greatness is not about harsh tactics to humble others, rather, greatness is about humbling oneself in service, as He did.

This is not to say that the chat officials are Christians. This is to say that, Believer or not, service is a call to greatness.

The leaked chat may show human flaws and the desire for recognition, but the greater calling according to these scriptures, demands that we actively choose service over self-centeredness.

How does that look practically?

Go to the secure room, as it were, communicate over secure devices, exercise exquisite cyber hygiene and, thereby, cover and serve the men and women actively in harm’s way.

Would you consider today how to fill the greatness gap in your service as I contemplate the same? The consequences for us may not play out as publicly, but are still mission critical.

The call to avoid the greatness gap demands that we bear the fruit of the Spirit in our interactions, and that we lead by example—just as Christ did, humbly serving where we are called.

True greatness doesn’t only elevate the individual; it elevates the community while it celebrates commitment.

Finally, true greatness points to the One who called you to service.

Serve Greatly,

xoxoKimberly

Sincere thanks to Dharius Daniels, pastor of Change Church whose sermon on March 31, 2025 titled The Greatness Gap inspired the title of this blog post and helped to flesh out my thoughts on the Signal Chat leak. Thank you, sir.