Jesus Followers and Government…

Americans are granted one of the greatest privileges in history: we choose our leaders.  No King succeeds his parent to the throne; no dictator seizes power.  I believe every American should be informed by credible sources (Note: a Facebook post is not a credible source) and should vote.  People across the world marvel at Americans who stay home during an election and then complain about who gets elected.

Jesus followers, however, have additional duties.  There are clear instructions in the New Testament about our interactions with government.  We are told in Romans 13 that we are to submit to governing authorities.  No follower of Jesus can be an anarchist.  Someone must be in charge and God allows a government to form and establish law.  Are some laws unjust?  Yes.  Martin Luther King, Jr., showed us how to respond to unjust laws: Be willing to suffer to show that a law is unjust. 

Also, in Romans 13, Paul tells Jesus followers to pay their taxes.  When was the last time you heard a sermon on that topic?  The US Tax Code is a confusing document, full of twists and turns.  Do I think Jesus followers should take every deduction possible?  Yes.  But at the end of the day, you need to pay your taxes.  I heard once of a minister who failed to pay taxes for a decade or more.  His church admonished him, and then graciously supplied him with funds to pay his taxes.  Then, a few years later, it was revealed he failed to pay them again!  That is just wrong.  Like everyone else, I wish my taxes were lower.  But I am glad they pay for law enforcement, fire protection, schools, roads, a national defense, and disaster relief.  The duty of a Jesus follower is to pay our taxes.

In another letter, Paul tells his apprentice Timothy to pray, especially for Kings and for those in authority (1 Timothy 2).  It is a simple, but powerful duty of every Jesus follower to pray for government leaders.  Pray for the President, whether you voted for him or not.  Pray for the governor.  You have no idea the complexities these people face.  Pray for the Mayor, the legislators, the members of city and county council.  What do you pray for?  Pray they would be wise.  Pray they will see dangers and prepare.  Pray for God to give them strength.  Look at the “before” and “after” pictures of Clinton, Bush, and Obama.  It is a tough job to lead a country, a state, or a city.  Pray for their marriages and their kids.  You do not have to like someone or even vote for them to pray for them.

A final warning given to Jesus followers is found in Revelation 13.  Contrary to popular opinion, Revelation is not just about the end of time; it is about Jesus.  When you read chapter 13, you do not have to read Greek to understand it is a warning against worshipping the state.  This was the world of the New Testament.  The Caesars thought themselves not just to be Kings, but gods.  They demanded worship.

When a government demands worship, it asks for first place in your heart.  Every decision you make is to be approved by what you worship.  Governments that do this are called totalitarian regimes (think North Korea). 

This is where Jesus followers are called to disobey.  If a government demands worship, we dare not set it up as the ultimate authority in our lives.  The first commandment given to the people of God is: “You shall have no other gods before me.”  Jesus put it this way, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you as well.” 

Years ago, Vacation Bible Schools would open with a pledge to the American Flag, a pledge to the Christian Flag, and a pledge to the Bible.  As we were planning VBS one year, something made me uncomfortable about that order.  I prayed through that discomfort and began to realize we were subtly teaching our children that country comes before God.  I went to the woman in charge of VBS and told her I wanted to change the order; we would pledge allegiance to the Christian Flag first, the American Flag second.  She responded, “That’s not the way it’s written in the book.”  I tried to reason with her, and she finally gave in (rolling her eyes, and muttering something about crazy young preachers).  When the last night of VBS came, all the parents were invited to join us.  We followed our new pattern: Pledge to the Christian Flag first, the American Flag second. 

After the program, as everyone adjourned to the Fellowship hall for sugar cookies and Kool-Aid, a WW II vet stopped me and protested the order of the pledges.  I listened respectfully.  After all, this man had risked his life in combat for his country.  Then, gently as I could, I asked what the first commandment was.  He paused, and correctly answered, “You shall have no other gods before me.”  I said, “That’s why we pledge allegiance to the Christian Flag first.”  To his credit, he thought, and then said, “Preacher, you’re right.  I love my country, but I love my Jesus more.”

This is the final duty of every Jesus follower: Love your Savior first, love your country second.

Does It Really Mean That?

I was the substitute teacher for the oldest ladies Sunday School class.  When you are the pastor of a small church, you are also the substitute teacher for every class, as well as the part-time janitor, occasional soloist, and professional exterminator.

I was called in one Sunday when the regular teacher called in sick.  I think she was faking it.  Sure she was 92, it was winter, flu season, and there was two inches of snow in the ground, but she could have made it if she had wanted to.  With little notice, I walked into a class of six older women who had braved the cold and the flu to be in church. 

Any one of these ladies could have taught the class.   They had all grown up in that church, accepted Christ in that fellowship, and been baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.   They had heard countless sermons, Wednesday devotionals, and sat in Sunday School longer than I had been alive.

That church was near one of the finest seminaries in the world.  Through the years, seminary professors had served as part-time pastors.   Some of the finest preachers Baptists ever produced preached from the pulpit.  Starting after World War II, a procession of doctoral students served as pastors, living in the stone parsonage the church had constructed next door to the historic building.  One former pastor read the text from the original Greek each Sunday. Pastors were often measured not by how well they did as pastor, but what they went on to do afterwards.  These brilliant students became professors, missionaries, denominational executives, and pastors of prominent churches.  Somehow, I wound up in that long, distinguished line.

So, there I was, twenty-five years old, teaching eighty- and ninety-year-old women on a chilly Kentucky Sunday morning.  The lesson was on the Sermon on the Mount, the part in Matthew 5 where Jesus says, “Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you.”  As I taught through the passage, I noticed the attention of the women was slipping.  One class member looked out the window, one seemed to be studying the picture of the Last Supper behind my head, and a third was asleep.  I knew this because her upper plate had slipped, and her false teeth hung precariously in her open mouth.

I knew these women had heard all this before, so I went to the tried and true tool of every teacher to re-engage the class.   I asked them to name their enemies. 

The two or three women who were hanging with me, looked puzzled.  One of them spoke up and said, “I don’t believe I have any enemies.”  Something about the word “enemies” woke up the one sleeping woman.  She clicked her teeth back into place, and said, “Well I have had several enemas and believe they are no fun.”  The woman next to her poked her in the side and shushed her, saying, “He said enemies, not enemas.”

Things they never taught me in seminary: how to help older women know the difference between enemies and enemas. 

Sometimes when I preach or teach, thoughts come into my head.  I’m not always sure if they are from the devil or from God.  At this moment, a thought crossed my mind, and before I could stop, my mouth started moving: “An enemy is anyone who means you harm.  Someone who gossips about you (I knew this crowd had a black belt in gossip).  Someone who steals what you own or steals your husband.  Someone who wants to harm your country.  Someone who wants to hurt you and doesn’t care that you hurt.  Jesus says to love them.  And Jesus said we ought to pray for them.  How much of your prayer time is praying for people you don’t like?”

This actually seemed pretty obvious to me. 

There was stunned silence for a moment.  Apparently, despite all the great preaching and teaching these women had heard through the years, this was a new thought.  After an uncomfortable few seconds, Mrs. Sue Flowers, the matriarch of the church, fixed me with a stern gaze and pronounced, “Well, it doesn’t mean that.”

Funny how you can sit in church for decades and still not hear the plain meaning of Jesus’ words: “Love your enemies.  Pray for those who persecute you.”  Funny how people want to simply deny the plain meaning of words when the words make them squirm.

Mark Twain supposedly said, “Some people are troubled by the things in the Bible they can't understand. The things that trouble me are the things I can understand…”

I think Jesus meant what he said.  Whether it troubles us or not.  So, think the people who really get on your nerves.  People who have hurt you.  People who disagree with you politically.  Your obnoxious neighbor.  Your ex.  People who want to attack our country.  Jesus said Love them.  Pray for them.  The only question left is what are you going to do?

Do not Let the Weak Die…

I saw a video clip of a news reporter in Tennessee, giving details of a protest on the steps of the state capital. The protesters were clamoring for the Governor to reopen the state for business and let life return to normal, whatever that means in this COVID19 world. Behind the reporter was a young man in his twenties, holding a sign. It said, “Let the weak die, Open TN (Tennessee).”

This young man’s poster is an echo of other voices. The Lieutenant Governor of Texas said, “There are more important things than living, and that’s saving this country for my children and grandchildren and saving this country for all of us.”  I agree lives may need to be sacrificed to preserve our freedom, but is it right to sacrifice a life to make sure we can all live comfortably? I have a hunch if the Lieutenant Governor infected with Corona virus and hospitalized, he would not be saying, “Go ahead and let me die so the price of gas can go up.” 

Of course, it is easy to skewer politicians and protesters, but I have heard similar comments from everyday folks. “People are going to die from the flu anyway,” someone told me the other day. Isn’t funny how its easy to dismiss “people” but when it is my people, my grandmother, my dad, I think their life is precious.

Throughout history there is a vicious, ugly thought that rises: some people are worth more than others. In the Ancient World, the world of the Bible, that was the way most people thought. Foreigners were enemies. Kill them because their lives do not matter. Enslave them, all they are good for is hard labor. It was a brutal world, where survival of the fittest lead to might makes right.

In Jesus’ world, it was common for baby girls to be abandoned. Girls were not thought to be as valuable as boys. Sick relatives were often set out to die. No need trying to take care of the elderly; they could not work anymore. What value did they add?

Jesus, building on Jewish teaching, taught something radically different. He told a story about a shepherd leaving ninety-nine sheep to go search for the one lost sheep. Bad economics, great shepherding. In that one Bible verse most people know, it is clearly stated, “For God so loved the world…”  Not just certain kinds of people. Not just certain nations. Not just the young and health. The world. Regardless of gender, nationality, orientation, or age, God loves everyone who ever has or ever will exist.

Jesus followers in the first centuries after his resurrection put this into practice. They picked up the abandoned babies and loved them as their own children. They cared for the sick and the elderly. When persecuted for their faith, they were willing to die rather than adapt.

It is true that Jesus followers got a lot wrong as time went by. By the Dark Ages, people who called Jesus “Lord” would go to war in his name. They were not merciful. During the plagues that hit Europe, the sick was not always cared for. People reverted to practices of their ancestors and left the sick to die.

Still, it was the followers of Jesus who built orphanages and hospitals. Established on the teachings of their Lord, they cared for the “least of these.”  There is something about Jesus’ clear instructions that the church cannot shake.

Regimes sprout up to challenge this value of human life from time to time. Not so long ago, people with dark skin were thought to be less than human and were enslaved. Native Americans were torn from their land in the name of economic progress. Hitler touted the superiority of the Aryan race and killed 12 million people. Some were Jews, others deformed, still others were political dissidents.

The greatest flaw when someone protests and says, “Let the weak die” is their failure to see themselves as weak. We all start as weak babies, needing care and nurture. Most of us will at some time get sick and need tender nursing. Many of us will get older and in our final days, we will be weak. Someone will have to feed us and bathe us. We all either are weak, or we will be.

Jesus followers believe Jesus came not for the strong, not for those who can fend for themselves, but for the weak and the meek. He taught us in the greatest sermon ever that until we admit our poverty, our weakness, our need for God, we will never find the strength we truly need. It is the strength, as the Apostle Paul said, the makes all things possible.

If Jesus came to help the weak – everyone of us – do we dare turn to anyone and say, “Go ahead and die?”   Aren’t you glad God is better than that?

An Abundance of Courage…

Talk about an impossible assignment: Joshua had been tapped to be Moses’ successor.   

Moses had an amazing backstory.  He was saved as an infant, due to the shrewd thinking of his mother and the compassion of an Egyptian Princess.  He grew up in a palace, with the most privileged members of Pharaoh’s house.  Forced to flee after he committed murder, he met a girl, got married, and wandered the back country for forty years. 

Then God spoke to him out of a bush that burned, except it didn’t burn up.  God told Moses to go back to Egypt and tell Pharaoh to let my people go. Moses went, reluctantly.  Ten plagues and several encounters with Pharaoh later, the people were set free. 

You’d think his problems were over, but they were just beginning.  The people of Israel had been slaves and didn’t know how to self-govern.  They had to learn, and Moses was their teacher.  He met with God on Mount Sinai, and spoke to God face to face, like a friend.  He gave the Israelite’s their law, the foundation of their culture.  He stuck with them through their rebellion and lead them to brink of the land God promised to give them.  Then, he went up on a mountain and died, seeing the promised land, but never entering. 

 Conquering this land would be Joshua’s job.  Joshua was born a slave.  No Egyptian Princess rescued him from the Nile.  He knew what it was like to get up every day and be treated different than other men because of his racial background.  He’d worked a slave’s job with a slave’s hours.  When Joshua first appears in the Exodus story, he is down in the valley, fighting hand to hand, while Moses is on the Mountain, holding up his arms.  Moses was doing important work, no doubt, but Joshua’s job was to be in the thick of it. 

 Joshua was on the fringes, waiting on Mount Sinai while Moses talked to God.   He would stay outside and guard the tent where Moses went to talk to God.  When a battle needed to fought, or when there was a spy assignment, the job went to Joshua.  A good man.  Someone you want by your side.  But he was not Moses. 

The problem with great leaders is they all die.  When they do, someone else has to lead.  For thirty days the people of Israel mourned Moses’ death.  Then they turn to Joshua.  He’s the new leader.  This is his time. 

There is a moment when God speaks to Joshua.  We don’t know if it was in Moses’ old “God Tent” or while he was walking around the camp one day.  We do know what God said.  He started with the facts: Moses is dead.  Seems like an obvious conclusion, but maybe it was God’s way of telling Joshua nothing would bring Moses back, and there was a new mission, a mission for which he had been chosen. 

His mission?  Cross the Jordan River into enemy territory.  Take possession of the land God promised.  Fight battles.  You will win them, but you still have to fight them, God said. Then God gives him a promise: “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you.”  God is making a simple point: When an elephant and an ant cross a bridge and it vibrates, it’s not the ant that does it.   

Then God gives Joshua some orders.   They are not “Round up the army.”  They are not “Get ready for battle.”  They are simple: “Be strong and courageous.”  God tells Joshua this three times.  Must be important. 

To “be strong” means to have strength to hold your position.  To “be courageous” means to have the will to go forward.  Three times God told Joshua the key to winning any battle:  Be strong.  Be courageous. 

We are in a battle, battling against a mutation of nature.  I hear over and over this phrase: “Out of an abundance of caution…”  I get the need for caution.  But I’m not so sure this should be our mantra.   

I believe this is a time to be strong.  Stand strong against anxiety.  Be strong enough to resist hoarding supplies.  Be strong and pray for our country, for the sick, for front-line providers.  Be strong and do not think yourself sick.  Teach your children how to be strong. 

Be courageous.  Be courageous and  help your neighbor.  Be courageous and encourage each other.  Be courageous and accept medical instruction.  Be courageous and endure, for “sorrow last through the night, but joy comes in the morning.”   This will pass.  COVID19 is not forever.  Be courageous and know that the God of Moses and Joshua is with you.   

This is a time for an abundance of courage.  This is a time to be strong and courageous. 

What I Really Wish Would Happen with Impeachment…

Just in cased you have been in a comma for the past six months, our President is under the threat of impeachment.  Hearings, witnesses, twitter wars, and political strategists all are seeking to answer this question: “Did the President’s behavior rise to the level of an impeachable offense?”

 That question has not yet been answered, but I wish somethings would happen.

 I wish President Trump would say, “You know, I made a mistake.  I wanted the Ukrainians to do an investigation that would benefit me politically.  I threatened them.  That was wrong. I sinned against my opponent and against God.  It was a dumb thing to do and I won’t do it again. I’m going to stop worrying about being re-elected and get on with running the country.”  King David said, “I have sinned against the Lord” and repented.

 I wish House Democrats would say, “Yes, we have a political agenda.  We don’t like the President.  But maybe we need to pause and ask what’s best for the country.  Maybe we need to say ‘no’ to some of our own political base and think this through.  Let’s be Americans first, and Democrats second.”   Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be the leader must be the servant.” 

 I wish House Republicans would say, “The President did do wrong.  We’re not going to pretend otherwise.  We will support the President when he is right, but we will oppose him when he is wrong.  If the President did commit an impeachable offense, we will not worry about the voters back home.  We’ll do what is right.”  God told Joshua, “Be strong and be of courage.” 

 I wish Senators would wait until the House actually votes on something before getting on TV and posturing about how wrong or right the House is.  Doesn’t the Bible say something about fools talking all the time but wise people listen more than they speak?

 I wish CNN, FOX News, and MSNBC would just report the news.  Jesus said, “Let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no,’ ‘no.’”

 I wish Joe Biden would say, “I made some calls because I wanted to help my son.  Looking back, that wasn’t very smart.  I won’t do that again.  Hey, Trump isn’t perfect and neither am I.  Let’s talk about how to solve the problems in our country.”  Jesus said, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”

 I wish Franklin Graham, Jerry Falwell, Jr., and Robert Jefferies would remember Jesus is our Savior, not Donald Trump.  I wish they would stop worrying about so much about getting America back to God, and remember no matter far America drifts from God, God will still be God.  I wish they talk more about how Jesus changed their lives.  A verse from Psalms says, “Put not your trust in princes.”  Or politicians.

 I wish a computer virus would disable all Russian and Ukrainian hackers.  The Bible says something about a plague descending on the land.  A computer virus sounds like a good tool of God’s judgment.

 I wish God would use this moment to help our country look at itself and make us ask, “What’s wrong with us?  Why are we allowing this?  Why are we focused more on dividing ourselves than uniting ourselves?  We’ve lost our way.  We thought we were big and powerful and didn’t need God.  We really do need him.  Let’s return to God and to his ways.  Let’s get back on track.”  The Psalmist said, “Search me and test me, O Lord, and see if there be any wicked way in me.”

 I’m sure by this time you are rolling your eyes and accusing me of being unrealistic.  Maybe so.  But Jesus came into the real world.  God’s word was written against the backdrop of political maneuvering and intrigue.  Power struggles are splashed across the pages of scripture.  I’m pretty sure God has seen all this before.

 Maybe all this is unrealistic.  Or maybe my wishes should be my prayer list.  “If my people… will humble themselves and pray, then I will heal their land.”

 I really wish for and pray for, some healing in this land.

Should Women Go Home?

John MacArthur, a well-known preacher, was recently asked what he would say to Beth Moore, a well-known Bible Teacher.  His response: “Go home.”

What MacArthur implied was Beth Moore has no business teaching the Bible.  She needs to stay home and do whatever woman are supposed to do at home.

 My Momma read me Bible stories when I was little.  Momma read with expression.  She made you feel the fear in Moses’ voice, “Who am I to lead such a people?”  When she came to the parts of the story where God said, “Go!” the way Momma read, you knew you had to go.  She sounded just like God. 

 My Aunt Faye would tell my Sunday School Class stories at church.  In fact, I’m pretty sure all my Sunday School teachers were women until fifth grade.

 When I went to college, our campus minister, Esther Burroughs, taught an eight-week series on Love, Sex, and Marriage.  Those eight weeks introduced me to things I’d never thought of before, like the whole idea that sex in marriage could be joyous. 

 Esther would re-enter my life when I was in my thirties.  I heard her speak to a group of pastors.  I’ll never forget these sentences: “Pastors, the church is the bride of Christ.  Your bride is at home.”  I was beyond convicted. 

 At the Global Leadership Summit this year, I heard Liz Bohannon speak about taking a risk.  After college she went to Uganda to empower young women, ended up founding a company, and changing the lives of thousands.  I thought about the times my fears kept me home instead of boldly going where the real needs are.

 I was in a church meeting once when two men got into an argument.  There were nine of us present.   Six of us watching these men nearly come to blows.  Then Pat Hobbs, one of the wisest women I know, spoke up, calmed the waters, and got us back on track.

I’m glad these women did not stay home.

 Sometimes people aren’t sure if the Bible is for or against women.

 For.

 Okay, that might not be enough of an explanation.  The Bible is not anti-women, not by a long shot.   The Bible often describes events without approving of them.  It tells us that Eve first succumbed to temptation.  There was punishment.  But it also makes clear that Adam succumbed, and he was punished also.  In 1 Timothy 2:13-15 it does tell us about the order of creation (Adam first, then Eve) and the order of temptation (Eve first, then Adam).  But Paul was relating this Christian conduct, especially in worship – women should learn in quietness and in full submission.  Apparently, women were being loud and disruptive.  It’s the next verse that gives people trouble: “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.”  Do you notice what’s missing from this verse?  The statement that a man must teach woman and a man must have authority over a woman. 

 Paul also wrote in Galatians 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”  The point in the New Testament is that all must first submit to the authority of Jesus – He is the head of the His church.  I believe the passages about women’s conduct in the New Testament are simple reminders for women not to abuse their new freedom in Christ.  The same would be true for men.

 Christian faith has done more than any world faith system to elevate the status of women.  Marriage was elevated from the idea of property and child-bearing to one of intimacy and love (see Song of Solomon).  In the Old Testament, women were accorded rights – for the first time in the ancient world.  If those rights are not what we would expect, we forget that all systems of liberty and rights begin with valuing the person – no matter the race, economic status, or gender.

 I think John MacArthur really missed it.  Beth Moore needs to use the gifts God gave her.  I don’t think the world needs fewer Bible teachers. 

 There is much more to say – but let’s be clear – the Bible teaches that man and woman need redemption – and it is offered to both.  That’s the greatest equality of all.

My Country Gift to Me …

There are people in the world who never have a choice in their leader.  A military strong man or his son dictates what is right and what is wrong.  All of them, every single one in history, has gotten rich (or at least comfortable) by exploiting the people they govern.  Our country is different.  We have the gift of voting for our leaders.  Sure, we don’t like our choices sometimes.  At election time people say their choice is the lesser of two evils.  Voting for the lesser of two evils still beats having no choice at all.

Even in some highly developed countries, you have no choice about religion.  You are not free to worship the god you choose.  You are forced to bow in prayer with all your peers or pay taxes to support a place of worship.  It was two early Baptists who wrote to Thomas Jefferson about the need to have a free exercise of religion.  They remembered the religious wars of Europe and wanted no part of bloody battles in Jesus’ name.  We tend to forget that the Christian God, embodied in Jesus, refused to force anyone to follow him.  He invited people to follow; he did not force their allegiance.  Freedom to believe or believe differently or disbelieve – these are gifts.

I have visited countries where television, radio, and newspapers were under government control.  Whenever that happens, truth is the first causality.  What I heard and read told a story that everything was perfect, everything was under control.   Nothing is ever that perfect.  Freedom of the Press means commentators, editors, and bloggers can get a lot wrong.  But it also means there is a freedom to tell the truth.  Truth sets you free; lies keep you captive.

There is a lot of debate in our country about gun control.  Do people abuse the Second Amendment?  Yes, they do.  Do people abuse most of the freedoms granted us in our Constitution and Bill of Rights? Yes, they do.  I know the ultimate answer to gun violence is changing people’s hearts.  Frankly, I think Second Amendment advocates ought to be fervent witnesses for the gospel.  But I have also been in countries where owning a gun is illegal.  This is a bit like saying “Guns are powerful.  Therefore, guns are bad.”  Maybe it’s better to say with great power comes great responsibility.  The power of owning a gun should not be a casual thing.  The freedom to own a gun carries hefty responsibility.

I’m not naïve, I know our justice system is not pure.  Nothing invented by man is pure.  For all its faults, however, I can not think of any system on earth that’s better.  We sometimes belittle criminal rights.  But I’m glad I have the right to have an attorney present during questioning.  If I can’t make myself understood to my own wife at times, there’s a pretty good chance I would mess up talking to a police officer.  There are countries where you can be arrested, thrown in jail, and kept there until you die.  No trial means no hope.  Your rights before the bar of justice are a gift.

Maybe the freedom we most take for granted is limited government.  The Tenth Amendment states: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” The negative legacy of this amendment was the use of “states rights” to justify discrimination and deny civil rights.  But the positive legacy of this amendment is this: our government has to live within boundaries.  We do not live in an oppressive state like North Korea, where the government has the right to tell you who to marry, where to live, what to do for a living, what you should value, and who you must worship.  I grew up with folks who would say they didn’t like “the guv’ment messing in our bidness.”  We have no idea what it is like to live in a thought-controlled state.

I believe we have been given these gifts for a divine reason.  We live in a nation that enjoys the greatest freedoms ever given to people.  These gifts of freedom must be protected and respected.  Part of caring for these gifts means we will not use our freedom to rob other people of their freedoms.  Like all good gifts, we must know the true value of our freedoms.  Their value is not just based on men and women who fought and died for these freedoms.  Their value is based on their uniqueness.  They are God’s special gift to the United States of America.

In Mrs. Turnipseed’s kindergarten class we started every morning with the Pledge of Allegiance and singing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee.”   As best I remember, the first words of the song sounded to my five-year-old ears like “My Country Gift to Me.”  I was correct in my understanding, if flawed in my singing.  Our country, our freedom is a gift.  Tell God “Thank you.”  Be wise stewards of your freedom.  Respect how other people use their freedoms.  Pass these freedom gifts onto your children and grandchildren. 

Remember the gift of freedom, the gift of this country is not automatic.  Like any gift, if you don’t take care of it, it breaks.  Broken freedom creates a terrible place to live.

Who Wins the Battle?

As far back as history records, there were battles when the weaker force defeated the stronger force.  Why?

On October 10, 732, Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi led his Umayyad army of 20,000 troops into battle against Charles Martel, King of the Franks.  Charles brought an army of 15,000 to Tours (in west central France) to stop the Muslim army from further advances into Europe.  The Muslims had already conquered Northern Africa and the Iberian peninsula, which had been Christian strongholds.  Ghafiqi had a seasoned cavalry; Charles had only infantry.  The Umayyad troops had broken through the Frankish lines and tried to kill Charles, but when the Umayyad troops learned that Frank scouts were looting their camp, they broke off from the battle to protect their treasures.  The Umayyad army fled with as much treasure as they could carry, but they left tents and other loot behind.  Most historians agree that Charles’ victory at Tours preserved Europe as a bastion of Christianity.  Why did Charles win the battle?

When the War of Independence began, the cause of the Americans looked hopeless.  They were a loose confederation of colonies taking on the world’s foremost empire.  But strange things happened in that war.  France joined the American cause.  An uprising in India prevented the British from fully engaging in the American conflict.  The war shifted away from a stalemate in the northern colonies to a guerilla, hit and run conflict in the South.  When French and American forces surrounded Cornwallis at Yorktown, instead of attacking, he waited on Clinton (the English general, not the ex-president) to bring re-enforcements from New York. Five days after Cornwallis’ surrender, the British re-enforcements finally arrived.  Imagine an America bound by British customs and thought.  The Anglican church would have remained the established church. There would have been no separation of church and state.  Most likely there would have been no Second or Third Great Awakening, no Azusa Street Revival, no Billy Graham.  Why did the Americans win that war?

From July to October 1940, the German Air Force battled the Royal Air Force over the Island of Britain.  The German goal was to force Britain to a negotiated peace settlement.  The Germans began the battle with 2,550 aircraft; the British, 1,963.  When the battle ended, the Germans had lost 1,977 aircraft, the British, 1,744 – almost all of their planes.  Yet Germany withdrew from the battle field, to focus on the looming attack of Russia, but failing ultimately to force the British to accommodate their war aims.  Had they succeeded, Russia would have been conquered by the Germans.  Millions more would have been killed in Hitler’s genocide plans.  Britain would have become a vassal state of Germany instead of an ally of the United States.  Though Hitler paid lip service to a version of Christianity favoring the Aryan race, he was at heart an atheist.  Imagine a world sixty years later with an atheistic state ruling over all of Europe and Russia.  Why did Britain win the battle?

Could it be that behind these battles and wars, another hand was at work, the hand of God?  Could it be that God caused confusion in an army, poor decisions by a commander, and a failure of focus by a dictator?  Could it be that God intervenes in the affairs of a nation so his will is done?

This is not to suggest that every victorious army was righteous; war seldom has clean cut morality.  We cannot always say, “God is on the side of the victor.”  But neither can we say a nation was “lucky.”  This is why we need to read the prophets.  God worked through pagan kings and kingdoms to bring about his will, even if it meant his own people would lose the war.  God still works through nations, leaders, armies and wars.

Psalm 33:10-11 says, “The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.”  Whatever plan a nation makes that is not in harmony with the will of God will fail.  God will not just oppose that plan; he will sabotage that plan with all his power and might.  God wants his will done not just in our hearts, but on the world stage.

Which means a wise nation prays, “Father, not our will, but yours be done.”

I wonder how many politicians, campaign contributors, lobbyists, voters, and candidates are praying for God’s will to be done?  Are you?

Churches, Preachers, and Politics…

The pastor at my home church was preaching one Sunday, and as an illustration, he shared that some senior adults received so little in Social Security, they had to eat dog food.  Then he added this phrase, “I don’t think God likes that.”  Everyone can agree on that, right?

On the way home, one family member said, “I just don’t think preachers should talk politics.”  Maybe I missed something, but how is people getting enough to eat (so they don’t have to eat dog food) politics?

There are people (and obviously some in my family) who think preachers should stick to issues like salvation, heaven, hell, the second coming, and “Did Adam and Eve have belly-buttons?”  There is another set of folks who think preachers ought to preach politics if it agrees with their politics.  Then there are preachers who believe politics is the way you change the world.  One well-known pastor in Dallas had a TV studio built into his new church so he would be instantly available to news networks to share his opinion. 

Part of the problem is the way we see the world.  We think faith is just about what happens after you die.  Jesus kicked this idea in the head when he said, “Whenever you visit the sick, clothe the naked, feed the hungry, offer drink to the thirsty, and visit folks in the prison, it just like you are doing it to me.”  If you really are a Jesus follower, you will care for the least of these.

It’s also a problem when people think their way of thinking is God’s way of thinking.  That’s the way the Chief Priests and Pharisees thought.  They were so convinced of their own “rightness” they didn’t recognize God in the flesh in front of them.  Before you start telling everyone what God thinks politically, you might want to check with him.

I am always amazed when preachers think political power is the way to change a city, a state, or a country.  I believe there is greater power on a prayer bench than in a ballot box.  That doesn’t mean Jesus followers shouldn’t vote or run for office; it simply means our hope is in the power of a resurrected Jesus, who is the King of kings and Lord of lords (and President of presidents, Governor of governors, and Mayor of mayors).

One of the reasons the first part of the Bible – the Old Testament – matters is because it tells us how God’s judgment comes upon nations that sell justice, abuse the poor, reject the foreigner, worship sex, and lust for power (of course, none of those issues impact us today).  Jesus followers have a mandate to speak truth to power, no matter what party holds that power.  That is why the church of Jesus should never sell its soul to a political party.  The church never has to figure out whose side it is on; the church puts itself on God’s side.  Everything else falls in place from there.

Jesus followers need to speak with a clear voice that every life, every soul matters to God.  Therefore, every life, every soul, matters to us.

Call it politics if you want.  I call it seeing Jesus in the faces of every man, woman, boy, and girl. 

I think back to that preacher’s statement so long ago, and he was absolutely right to say those words in church.  Jesus said if you feed the hungry, it’s like feeding him.  I wouldn’t serve Jesus dog food, would you?