I
gave you a king in My anger
And took him away in My wrath.
And took him away in My wrath.
---Hosea 13:11
America’s greatest leader was George
Washington. He is known in history as
the “father of our country” because of his incredible contribution to our
founding as a nation. Washington really
is the father of the presidency as well because every holder of the office
whether they want to or not, conforms to the patterns he lived by when he held
the office. To my mind, our first
president’s true greatness was his character.
Though that character was tested time and again in battle (both military
and political), he passed the greatest test when the Colonial Army having
defeated the world’s superpower of the day came to him and offered to make him
George I of America. With their help,
Washington would be given absolute power and a monarchy rather than have to deal
with a pesky continental congress. When
a man of great strength and charisma can turn down the offer of unbridled
power, you know they are a person of true character and integrity.
Great leaders such as Washington are gifts from God and I might add, few and far between. But something we all need to consider is that bad leaders are also a “gift” from God. Many times in the Old Testament God raised up a king not as a blessing but as a chastisement to the people for their moral and spiritual failures. That God guides the history of other nations besides Israel seems abundantly clear in Acts 17 when Paul preaches to the Athenians and tells them that God has determined the habitations, boundaries, and times of every nation on earth. A good king (in our case president) is a grace, but it also follows that bad ones might be telling us more about our nation’s spiritual health than that we just checked the wrong box on our ballot. But good or bad presidents aside, God’s people are always called on to preach the gospel and pray for our nation and the good of all people.
Great leaders such as Washington are gifts from God and I might add, few and far between. But something we all need to consider is that bad leaders are also a “gift” from God. Many times in the Old Testament God raised up a king not as a blessing but as a chastisement to the people for their moral and spiritual failures. That God guides the history of other nations besides Israel seems abundantly clear in Acts 17 when Paul preaches to the Athenians and tells them that God has determined the habitations, boundaries, and times of every nation on earth. A good king (in our case president) is a grace, but it also follows that bad ones might be telling us more about our nation’s spiritual health than that we just checked the wrong box on our ballot. But good or bad presidents aside, God’s people are always called on to preach the gospel and pray for our nation and the good of all people.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment