As has been my routine for the last few years, I get up early and read the news for about 30-45 minutes, then read God’s Word for about 30-45 minutes. This gives me perspective, and I get to see what each side is up to. And it has always been the case that God’s Word has an application to what is going on in the world. Some times I need to look a little harder, but most times, it’s very clear, as was the case today.
Unless you have been living under a rock for the last week, you all know about the severe losses the Republican party suffered this past election cycle. And while the opposing party of the president usually loses seats in Congress at the midterms, many conservative commentators are saying that this feels different. And I have a tendency to agree with this. The divide between the conservatives and the liberals has grown extensively since I first became a voter, and became more politically aware. For perspective, the first presidential candidate I voted for was Ronald Reagan for his second term. Yes, I am old.
Today, I read some opinion pieces on what conservatives need to do for the next two years, and they all pretty much said that we need to remind our elected officials that _________________ (insert whatever you want to say to hold their feet to the fire). And these opinions can go on ad nauseum ad infinitum. And, these all massively miss the mark, at least in my opinion, for whatever that’s worth.
The four institutions set up by Scripture are the family, church, business, and civil government. The very first institution of importance is family. A strong family makes for strong churches, strong communities, and strong businesses. And finally strong civil government. The foundation is always family, and the way to make changes to ALL other institutions must start there. Or as Ronald Reagan famously said, “All great change in America begins at the dinner table.” So, if we wait until we have to try to convince our elected leaders of something, it’s already too late. Our leaders need to be elected by strong biblical families, and fathers need to be training their kids what a godly leader looks like, and, in fact, model what a strong godly leader looks like.
As a strong family, we need to also have good civil discourse skills and use those to speak to our friends and neighbors, esp. those who disagree with you. And do this civilly. Learn to ask good questions, and then learn to listen. If someone has a foundation other than the God of the Bible, they have built their house on sand with the tide coming in. As I read through the Gospels, I have seen again that Jesus asked a lot of questions, around 360 or so. Many of these are repeated between the gospels, but they were important enough to have them repeated. Jesus answered only about 50 questions, and most of those were questions He asked. For instance, “What is the Kingdom of Heaven like? It is like…” Asking good questions is a skill that can be learned, and it also trains you to listen to the question so you can discern any assumptions or other tricks behind the question.
Another thing I am noticing is that Jesus wasn’t necessarily trying to convince the leaders they needed to make sure His rights were recognized, or even trying to change their minds about anything. He reserved those conversations and teaching for the people, for His neighbors, His disciples. And it was with these people that the word was spread about Jesus, and where major changes were made. Civil government for the most part was very opposed to Jesus as they saw their power being challenged and threatened by Him. People in power tend to want to stay in power.
What is so shocking about the time Jesus was on earth, esp. in the Book of John, was that when He did his greatest miracles, the leaders sought all the more to kill Him. You would think that with the raising of Lazarus they would all be cheering, recognizing that God had sent the Messiah just as He had said He would. But when Lazarus was brought back to life, the leaders saw that their power was slipping from their hands saying, “If we let this go on, we lose everything. The whole world is chasing after Him.” And they looked to kill Jesus AND Lazarus to try to maintain power. People in power tend to want to stay in power.
All this to say, if we want to make changes, it must start in the home, at the dinner table. Then spread it out to our friends, family, neighbors, etc. And not so that we can find our comfort and salvation in the political sphere, but because this is what God told us to do. Go and preach the gospel, make disciples, train your family how to love God with heart, soul, mind, and strength. He gives us the means, the orders, and then GOD is who is in charge of the results. And remember, no kingdom, no government, no nation is forever except His Kingdom which will have no end. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Go and tend to your crop, your family first, and then go and spread the good news of the Kingdom of God.
Amen
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