Have you noticed that it’s an election
year? (If you haven’t let me know how
you’ve escaped the mudslinging political ads.
To take the commercials on face value, one would think that none of the
candidates is fit for leadership! I’m
Eric Tritten and I approved this message.)
Psalm 58 begins with the somewhat cryptic
statement, “Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?” (ESV) This is good Hebrew, but for our purposes the
NIV might have a better sense, “Do you rulers indeed speak justly?” It is talking about the rulers and leaders at
David’s time, and it points out that unjust leaders are unfit and will be held
accountable for their actions.
What do we do when we find ourselves
confronted with government and leaders who are unjust? How do we handle policies that oppress people,
permit (even approve of) immoral behavior, or promote unfair practices? There is room for questions of this sort in a
variety of public policy issues:
welfare, housing, taxation, abortion, marriage, and immigration to name
a few. Even our government does not do
what is right in all these matters all the time.
Christians have been confronted with this
issue since the foundation of the church.
What do you do when the Roman Empire says to hail Caesar as a god or
die? In modern times, perhaps Nazi
Germany serves as a poignant example.
Some Christians embraced the Third Reich and traded confirmation classes
for Hitler Youth meetings. Other
Christians joined the resistance and actively worked against their
government. There were yet others that
responded in varying degrees between the two extremes.
These are hard choices. Even when the right path is clear, obeying
God rather than men can be difficult and dangerous. Where do we find the courage to continue to
walk in God’s ways?
We find the courage in God Himself. We remember that God is active. He is at work to bring justice to the
world. Indeed, He has already brought
one kind of justice on the earth when Jesus bore the just punishment for our
sins on the cross! It is by faith in Him
that we can count ourselves among, “the righteous,” named in this psalm. Yet a day will come when all sin will be
overthrown, and on it all injustice will be accounted for. “The righteous will rejoice when he sees the
vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.” In that day, we will fully understand God’s
righteousness and rejoice in the overthrow of all the immoral rulers of the
world.
Make no mistake; God is not a Democrat or a
Republican. He is not Conservative or Liberal,
as we use those terms. He is not a Capitalist,
Socialist, or Communist. From a biblical
Christian point of view we can find fault with all political parties in every
land, and every political philosophy.
Our goal as Christians
(living in the world, but not as one who is
of the world) is to conform to the image of Christ, to live daily in His
salvation, and to share the hope we have within us.
So we vote our consciences, a profound
example of sinning boldly, to select leaders we know will fall short of God’s
will. We pray for those officials and
ask God to guide them. We pay our taxes
and behave as good citizens desiring the best for our countries. We speak out against evil in government, and
we work to support that which is good and God-pleasing. Yet we do not place our hope in earthly
leaders or in the government, for, “surely there is a God who judges on earth.” He will set all to right in the day that
Jesus returns to judge the living and the dead.
O Lord, You said You are coming soon.
Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! Amen.
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