Bonhoeffer and the Peacock

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Wednesday, September 19, 2018

After the Lord has used the king of Assyria to accomplish his purposes on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, he will turn against the king of Assyria and punish him—for he is proud and arrogant.  He boasts, “By my own powerful arm I have done this.  With my own shrewd wisdom I planned it.  I have broken down the defenses of nations and carried off their treasures.  I have knocked down their kings like a bull.  I have robbed their nests of riches and gathered up kingdoms as a farmer gathers eggs.  No one can even flap a wing against me or utter a peep of protest.”  But can the ax boast greater power than the person who uses it?  Is the saw greater than the person who saws?  Can a rod strike unless a hand moves it?  Can a wooden cane walk by itself?  Therefore, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will send a plague among Assyria’s proud troops, and a flaming fire will consume its glory.  Isaiah 10:12-16(NLT)

Assyria’s world domination was a blip on history’s radar; the king just a footnote.  Sennacherib, king of Assyria had been like a peacock, strutting his accomplishments around like an arrogant gasbag!  That didn’t last long; God brought Sennacherib’s so-called power to nothing; actually, less-than-nothing, as God showed him what real power looked like.

In the mid-20^th century Adolph Hitler tried using Sennacherib’s playbook, but he fared no better than the Assyrian terrorist.  Germany’s self-aggrandizing dictator bragged that his leadership was going to bring Germany to power over the entire universe.  When all was said and done, the would-be ruler of the world committed suicide rather than being captured to face the trials (and probably execution) that were sure to come.  One thing he did NOT escape was standing before God with the blood of millions on his hands.

In the end it was the humility of a preacher named Bonhoeffer that played a pivotal role in bringing down the despot. 

Notwithstanding the tendency of some preachers to abuse or use politics in the pulpit, a preacher’s call from God includes looking-after the people over which politics rule.  When the politics are coming crossways against the Scripture, and leading the people astray, preachers are supposed to speak up.  In the late 1930’s some German pastors were speaking out, congratulating Germany on having Hitler as their Messiah:

"The time is fulfilled for the German people of Hitler. It is because of Hitler that Christ, God the helper and redeemer, has become effective among us. … Hitler is the way of the Spirit and the will of God for the German people to enter the Church of Christ." So spoke German pastor Hermann Gruner. Another pastor put it more succinctly: "Christ has come to us through Adolph Hitler."[2]

History told the story that a madman of no conscience, a sociopath at best, and a schizophrenic psychopath, or perhaps demon-possessed tool of Satan at worst, was not the Messiah.  Neither was Sennacherib.  Nor is any American president who acts with the same absence of moral compass.

Now, please save the cards, letters, emails, tweets and the like; I make no judgment on the policies of the current administration other than my own personal observation and opinion. 

But what I have tried to say is in direct response to those who have said explicitly, or implicitly that we don’t elect a pastor to the White House; we elect a President.  My response is that you cannot separate morality, conscience and ethical behavior from what a leader must be who leads a nation committed to ethical and moral behavior with good conscience.  To do so makes it permissible for the fox to rule the hen house.

I can say emphatically that this preacher is not without sin; I have apologized to God and my fellow humans more times than I care to remember for my trespasses.  We currently have a leader who has stated publicly he feels no such need to apologize…ever. 

Knowing a little about human nature, that makes me tremble.  And here’s why:

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”  James 4:6(NLT)

If the leader of this nation will never humble himself before human beings, much less God, how can we expect a different result from that of Sennacherib or Hitler?

For You Today

Join me in praying for our leaders; they can use it, whether they know it or not.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image: Photo Courtesy of Pixabay.com

[2] Christian History, Issue 32, 1991, Christianity Today