On the Right Side of History

 

Monday, January 25, 2021

The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.  I will make you into a great nation.  I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.  I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt.  All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”  Genesis 12:1-3

I’m old enough to have a history with experience.  My first vote in a presidential election was in 1968; in a total of 14 elections, I voted for the winner 8 times.  In Las Vegas, being right 57% of the time means you go home with full pockets.  But I’m not sure this applies; it’s just reporting the results like the newscasters.  “Winning” is so very temporary and having the most votes simply equates with popularity.

As each of those voting seasons came to an end, the “winning side” claimed a new era of peace, justice, and the American way, that the “other side” had been defeated, and now we can begin again to set things right.  And every time I heard one of those afterglow statements of victory, I always had an uneasiness about the certitude of the winner.  Depending on whether my vote had been for the victor, my feeling was either agreeably-uncertain, or disdainfully-uncertain.  I always had a sense of what-if, as in what-if-my-vote-was-on-the-wrong-side-of-history?

Now, before I lose you in thoughts of either gloating over winning, or sour-grapes for losing, this is about neither.  It has to do with choosing the right-side of history, which has nothing to do with which side may “win” or “lose”. 

Winston Churchill is often attributed for originating the phrase history is written by victors, however it is a phrase much older than World War II.  It is also suspect according to some:  One author has it that, [t]he more accurate quote would be, ‘History is temporarily twisted by people who’re going to profit from it in the short term.’[1] 

Whether it comes from the political right or left, I think this expediency motive may prove flawless.  It’s simply a matter of understanding that publicity matters when it comes to staying in power; when it comes to holding the high ground in public opinion, perception is its’ own reality.

Now, all of that is a matter of human relationships, political machinations, and intentions of those who would be the victor, not the vanquished.  The tides of popularity and so-called success are short-lived. 

So, what do we make of all this?  Is this just cynicism, or hyper-criticism?  Should we not participate in it at all…summarily trash everything?  Absolutely not!

So, what then?  What is the purpose in all of this?  Why even bring up the matter if there is no end to it? 

Well, I’m glad you asked.

Like the unknown cards in another’s hand, God stands behind the curtain of our ability to see.  And, as with Abraham, the Lord stands ready to bless or curse, depending on whether we intend to act with or against His will.  This is the nature of God in His complete Sovereignty.  Sovereign God is the ultimate winner in complete righteousness.  His will is immutable and irresistible.  And, therefore, it is God’s will which constructs, writes, and validates any “history”.

For You Today

If you want to be on the right side of history, it is a matter of surrendering one’s heart and life to God’s will. 

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

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[1] Title Image: Courtesy of Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

For other posts on Genesis 12 see Yield - Part 2 and Leaving and Arriving      

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[1] Shubham Jain in “History Is Written By Victors” Is A Foolish Phrase

 

The Distress of Justice

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Thursday, November 16, 2017

After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel.  The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight and served the images of Baal.  They abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt.  They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them.  And they angered the Lord.  They abandoned the Lord to serve Baal and the images of Ashtoreth.  This made the Lord burn with anger against Israel, so he handed them over to raiders who stole their possessions.  He turned them over to their enemies all around, and they were no longer able to resist them.  Every time Israel went out to battle, the Lord fought against them, causing them to be defeated, just as he had warned.  And the people were in great distress.  Judges 2:10-15^(NLT)

And I heard a voice from the altar, saying, “Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, your judgments are true and just.”                              Revelation 16:7^(NLT)

The justice system in America is arguably skewed at times, as is every other system created by the human race.  As my friend Phillip recently reminded me, Winston Churchill is attributed to have said something like:  Democracy is the worst form of government ever created…with the exception of every other form of government.

With all due respect to my friend, and the esteemed Mr. Churchill, there is one justice system that is true and just; its righteousness is never failing!  That system, of course, is the judgments of God.

Joshua led the nation of Israel to conquer the Promised Land after Moses’ death.  They occupied it under the leadership of God (theocracy) until Joshua died.  Then a new generation decided that serving Jehovah was outdated and old-school.  They got with the new program of being like the other nations and left God in the dust.

For Israel, bad became worse.  Their strength as a nation disappeared.  Their military was never enough.  Their infrastructures became compromised; superstructures and resources were hacked and stolen, and no leader could be trusted.  The whole nation was in severe distress.

Sound familiar?

I know it is dangerous to insert “America” into the target scheme of any prophecy or Biblical scenario, but when the shoe fits it is appropriate to wear it.  The trend in our culture is to trust in an idea of America as inherently good and all-powerful.  The problem in believing such is that we wind up attributing the nature of God to a national identity.  America is not, has never been, and will never be…GOD! 

The identity of a nation is comprised in the nature and character of the people who make up that nation.  According to Scripture (which has yet to be proven wrong), the character and nature of humans is corrupt, and has been so ever since Eden.  This is a fallen world…and, despite the flag-waving that has most of us rallying around the stars and stripes, that is our heritage…prone to wander; prone to leave the God we love.

And leave God behind we have…for the pragmatism of bigger stock markets, bigger walls, harsher conversations, and a national profile of yell louder if you sense you’re losing market share…at what cost?

The distress of God’s justice rolled-down on the heads of those who led Israel after Joshua passed.  I am not a prophet in the sense of being able to foretell the future, but I am student enough of history and Scripture to sense that we are at harvest time, and what we have been sowing, we shall certainly reap!

For You Today

“Distress” in true justice only falls on those who have attempted to thwart eternal sovereignty.  To avoid distress, bow before God, not Congress or Pennsylvania Avenue.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!

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[1] Title Image: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons