Last week the 45th President of the
United States, Donald J. Trump, was inaugurated into office. His
campaign, election, transition, and inauguration were all marked by tremendous
controversy including a number of protests. Nevertheless he is now the
nation’s President.
Love him or not, as Americans we have a long history of respecting the office,
even if we do not agree with the office holder. It was sad to see many Democratic
Party members of Congress boycott the Inauguration because they deemed
Trump to be, in their words “illegitimate.” Inauguration Day is
much bigger than the one being inaugurated. It is, above all else, a
celebration of the peaceful transfer of power from one person to another, quite
atypical of what we have seen down through history, and even up to the present,
in many parts of the world.
Some Americans have not been overly concerned with who won the
office, but others have voiced considerable concern. When you care
deeply about who wins, it cuts very deeply to lose. I remember the first
Presidential election of which I was old enough to remember when the candidate
I supported lost. While I had followed every campaign and subsequent
election cycle since 1980, I was not disappointed with the outcome until in
1992 when George H. W. Bush lost to Bill Clinton. I remember feelings of
anger and bitterness directed toward third-party candidate Ross Perot, who I
still believe cost Bush that election. I remember not wanting to
get out of bed the next morning and hoping it was merely a bad dream.
Nevertheless my theology shaped and formed by God’s Word told me that the Lord
was still going to be in control when Clinton took office in January, every bit
to the degree he had been in control during the 12 years of Reagan and
Bush. In 1996, 2008, and 2012 I had to dig deep once again to let my
theology take precedence over my emotions.
Sadly I see many “acting out,” even in some childish ways, because they did not
like the outcome. So as not to let Trump’s supporters off the hook, I see
a lot of un-Christlike gloating and un-Christlike ridicule of Hilary Clinton,
Barak Obama, and the Democratic Party in general. Your feelings
may be wrong and they may be right, however the real question is “How would
Jesus act in the same situation?” Would He enjoy a good dig at the other
party or would be suggest we pray for those whose eyes were closed to the
truth? The answer is obvious.
To be upfront and honest and provide full disclosure, I have a degree in
Political Science and on the wall of my college dorm room above my desk hung
top left – Richard Nixon; bottom left – Gerald Ford; Top right – Ronald Reagan;
bottom right – George H. W. Bush. Centered in between those four 8x10 glossy,
signed photographs was a group photo of the four men taken at the dedication of
The Nixon Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, CA in July, 1990. I
subscribed to U.S. News and World Report, The Dallas Morning News,
voraciously devoured the daily news, listened to National Public Radio,
Rush Limbaugh, was a member of the “Political Science Club” on campus, and when
I had breaks from school I was reading books such as No More Vietnams, In
the Arena, and 1999: Victory Without War, all by Richard Nixon. My
goal was to go on to Law School and the University of Oklahoma and become an
attorney. I often told people in those days, there was a need for
Christian lawyers. It seemed like a completely justifiable pursuit in my
mind. But, looking back I now see God’s kingdom did not seem as big to me
as it does now; further, in those days the kingdom of this world seemed much
bigger than it now seems.
In the years since then I have come to understand that the politics of this
world and the ways they are generally practiced are illustrative of the
depravity that is in the human heart. Most political issues turn into
judicial issues where courts decide who has the greater standing on the basis
of law. However, increasingly over the last several years, court
decisions have been arrived at, more and more, not strictly on the basis of
law, but upon political pressures, political correctness, and exclusively
secular-based reasoning. What we have is a battle of wills that are being
settled in courts of law because they cannot even begin to be settled anywhere
else. It was Alexis de Tocqueville who wrote in his classic work Democracy
in America in the 1830s “There is scarcely a question in America that does
not turn sooner or later into a judicial one.” If only he could see us
now!
So where does that leave us? Is it time to give up? I would assert
that as believers we have every reason to be optimist. Not because of
something as unimpressive as the outcome of any election or a ruling handed
down by the Supreme Court or a vote in Congress, or any other mundane, routine,
largely predictable occurrence, but as Scripture says “Rejoice because your
names are written in Heaven (Luke 10:20).” The short-term forecast for
believers shows storms ahead, but the long-range forecast shows very pleasant
conditions.
It would be a mistake to put too much stock in anything of this world, because
this world is passing away with all its lusts, but instead we need to lay up
our treasure in Heaven where the various elements do not and cannot destroy.
However, we do not need to be so disengaged that we fail to be the salt and
light Jesus taught us to be. We need to stand boldly for what is
right and stand just as boldly against the things that are wrong.
Prayer is the first thing we must do. If you cannot bring yourself
to pray for the leader of the free world then I wonder what things you might be
praying for instead. Prayer changes things. Prayer is the constant
act of submitting ourselves to God and acknowledging our utter dependence on
Him.
Believers, or anyone else, can rejoice we live in a free country, and we can
even rejoice about the outcome of the 2016 election and Trump becoming our
President if we desire. However, we must be careful to remember this is
an earthly office with a flawed human being in it working within a flawed
system, along with other flawed people trying to govern some 319 million flawed
people. But it does make perfect sense that we would all turn to a
perfect God for help and guidance. So be careful to not make the new
presidency out to be more than what it really is. I appreciate the
instructive words of John MacArthur in his January 17 monthly letter. He
writes “We must never mistake changes to the political landscape as some sort
of monumental spiritual achievement. Nothing that happens in the world
either aids or hinders the building of God’s kingdom – He depends on nothing
and no one to accomplish His purposes. In fact it has always concerned me
when Christians view the political tides as somehow shaping redemptive history,
or as posing a threat to – or enabling opportunities for –the church’s
advancement.” MacArthur has it right. God is much, much bigger that
the small things of this world.
In Christ,
Dr. Allen Raynor, Pastor
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