A Balance Between Two Extremes: Where God Wants Us To Act & To Be

Word-Of-The-Day: ‘To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.’ (Proverbs 21:3); ‘Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.’ (Galatians 6:9)

We sit at a crossroads today in our nation.  Many expect the new Executive administration to come in and start throwing people into boxcars to ferry them off to internment camps.  Others think the new (recycled) President will be somewhat magnanimous and forgive all the transgressions of the last four years without any repercussions to any wrongdoing against American citizens who were persecuted by the outgoing administration.  Both of these extremes would actually demonstrate very poor leadership and a repudiation why the majority of Americans voted for his re-election.  The first example would anti-American and vengeful, and it is doubtful that a Congress – even a favorable Congress – would allow such an occurrence (though the last Congress seemed to be entertaining the idea when the shoe was on the other foot).

The second example is easier, much easier – until it isn’t. To throw up our hands as say, ‘I’m not dealing with it.’  I’ve done it before when it comes to car repairs.  It’s expensive and inconvenient to get someone to fix the car while it can still run, though it runs with many problems.  We often wait and just let it ‘sit’ and hope it fixes itself, which it doesn’t.  The car runs worse until one day you’re stuck, broke down, and now need a tow.  Now we have to fix a much bigger (and even more expensive) problem, or just start over and go buy another car. 

The new Administration could take this tact as well, and allow the actions of the previous government entities to go unanswered and unpunished.  It would not be prudent to allow abuses to go unchecked as it would be in essence a show of approval of the wrongdoing.

Unlike a car, we don’t necessarily have the ability to just go down to the store to buy a new government.  We have to take care that which what God has entrusted us to take care of.  We are a nation with a constitutional republic (not a democracy that many claim); we are a nation ‘By the People, For the People’.  Proverbs 21 as a whole discusses a nation’s Righteousness, what a leader should be, what citizens should do, and describes what happens when immorality and unrighteous (wicked) behaviors take over.   To correct that, we must in God’s power, wisdom and direction hold accountable those wrongdoers but we must also hold them accountable while doing so with Righteousness. 

As Christians, we are called to sacrifice; our ‘time, treasures, and talents’ are used, but God doesn’t want our sacrifices or actions without a Spirit of Righteousness.  Nor is sacrifice the ‘end-all’, we must act Righteously against sin.  It’s not enough to just want to do what is right to combat immorality, but we need to do these things with an attitude and mindset of how this promotes God and Godly precepts.  There must be the provision of consequences for actions that were immoral against the nation; it must be carried out, not out of vengeance. but with His justice and also His mercy. 

My prayer to the Lord today is that for our new (recycled?) President and we as a nation forgive and that we show we have mercy, while balancing that with holding accountable those who abused their power and bringing their wrongdoing to light, and meting out appropriate penalties to ensure these actions in the future are discouraged from happening again.  We must have accountability, but we cannot seek retribution – else we are as low and as evil as our enemies. This should be done at the national level, and it needs to be done by each of us in our personal situations.

Galatians 6:9 is Paul telling us we as Christians can’t give up, as God will provide rewards for doing Righteous things, to stand up for Him and His precepts in the midst of that which is unrighteous.  It is not enough to play ‘Eeyore’ and do nothing or feel like you won’t make a difference.  We can make a difference, and with God backing us, we can succeed.  If we all do what we can do, with God we can overcome all of this immorality and wickedness.  We can’t let the weeds take over, even if we’ve let them grow longer than we should of.  The best time to start is today.