Thursday, July 25, 2019
Now restore us again, O God of our salvation. Put aside your anger against us once more. Will you be angry with us always? Will you prolong your wrath to all generations? Won’t you revive us again, so your people can rejoice in you? Show us your unfailing love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation. I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying, for he speaks peace to his faithful people. But let them not return to their foolish ways. Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, so our land will be filled with his glory. Unfailing love and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed! Truth springs up from the earth, and righteousness smiles down from heaven. Yes, the Lord pours down his blessings. Our land will yield its bountiful harvest. Righteousness goes as a herald before him, preparing the way for his steps. Psalm 85:4-13
Listening
carefully to God is a matter of learning to understand what is right. The kind of righteousness which leads to
peace is the art of doing what is right. Learning to understand what
is right is a matter of the heart, or faith. Having the courage to do
what is right is a matter of politics, putting into action the right thing you’ve
learned.
Here you
have what is a cardinal sin to many people, the marrying of faith and
politics. I grant that many, including more
than a few politicians use the guise of faith to win the
vote of faith-filled people rather than allow faith to be their guide to govern
righteously. That is an abuse, not a
practice of religion. But to say
religion, or faith has no place in governance is to say our founding fathers
were corrupt in taking the major ideology points of Scripture as the bases of
the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. That’s not a fair argument.
So, what
place does faith play in politics? It
plays the same role as atheism, agnosticism, hedonism, capitalism, socialism,
and any other belief system; it defines who you are by what you think and
do. To quote an old, but reliable source:
believing is behaving.
The fact is, people do what people think
is right. Our thinking, or that in which
we place our faith, informs and governs our doing.
For
government to be righteous, in the way that pleases God, it is important to do
more than check the soundness of economic theory or promises of this program or
that giveaway. Character will determine
how those who rule do so. When David
wrote to his son, Solomon about being a king that would rule so he would please
God, he didn’t speak of the right schools, choosing generals, or theories of
government; he warned Solomon about his heart, the seat of his faith:
“And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. 1 Chronicles 28:9
For You Today
In any decision about whom you select to rule over you, remember to mix
your faith in with the political dilemma; look to the candidates’ heart to see
if his or her faith is on a kissing relationship with doing righteously.
Go to VIDEO
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Title Image: Pixabay.com Unless otherwise noted, Scripture used from
The
New Living Translation©
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