Cause To Rejoice Or Mourn

So once again we are watching the circus live and in color on our television sets. The stage? Congress and the White House and the looming fiscal cliff. It is amazing to see after what was called the most important election of our lifetime that nothing has changed in Washington D.C. All the old leaders are the new leaders and you could not fill a bus up with those serving who are righteous in the sight of God. It reminds me of the old Rolling Stones song “We Won’t Get Fooled Again” where it ends with “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”

I was asked by some, and accused by others, if I was looking for perfection in a candidate. My answer to both is I am looking for righteousness in our public servants. Those, whether or not they are Christians, who have a sense of responsibility to their electorate and more important to “the laws of nature and nature’s God.” As my buddy Steve Deace always says, “We want people of convictions, not positions.”

What’s the difference? What you see going on in Washington now with the wishy-washy squishy leaders from both sides of the political divide are people of positions. What you saw in Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock and their comments on abortion are men of conviction. The former leaders were reelected and the latter men were rejected thereby verifying the truth that we get the leaders we deserve. The Bible gives a very simple truth about the state of our nation:

    “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when a wicked man rules, the people groan.” (Proverbs 29:2)

Many people have commented to me that it seems as though the wickedness in our world is not only getting more evident, it is becoming more bold. Again the Bible gives another simple truth about that:

    “The wicked prowl on every side, when vileness is exalted among the sons of men.” (Psalm12:8)

We as Americans, particularly those of us whom proclaim Christ as King, must reexamine how we choose our leaders. We cannot keep electing the same old unrighteous men and women and expect a better outcome.

    “The wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the legacy of fools.” (Proverbs 3:35)

We cannot keep electing those who have proven themselves to be fools and liars and not expect more of the same.

    “As snow in summer and rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.” (Proverbs 26:1)

I particularly like the one-line comment that Matthew Henry made about Proverbs 29:2:

    The people have cause to rejoice or mourn, as their rulers are righteous or wicked.

That is about as clear as clarity can get.

So geez Bro Dave, what do we do, just give up and wait for the mid-term elections in 2014?

Absolutely not! Those leaders of positions can be moved to the position that provides the most force. Right now the President, media, aka his PR firm, and the Democrats are putting pressure on the Republican Party to fold like suitcases which has been their usual outcome.

But WE the People still hold the power and while the deck is stacked against us, there are more of us than there are of them. Let each of us turn to the Lord Jesus Christ and repent of our own sins and our guilt in the role we have played in allowing unrighteous men and women to rule over us. As the Lord has promised through the Prophet Isaiah:

    “‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the LORD, ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’” (Isaiah 1:18)

The typical response to all of this mess is to disengage, especially with Christmas and New Years approaching. That is exactly what the unrighteous are expecting. Instead, let us engage like never before. Let us get on our faces before Almighty God and cry out to Him to heal our land and save our nation and turn the hearts of the wicked to righteousness.

Let us work to have cause to rejoice…

In Christ
Dave
Ps. 37:4

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    Copyright © 2012 David Jeffers

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