Mere Humanity

'Re-elect no one'!

Okay, this may seem a bit extreme, but is it really?! Where has electing/hiring 'the lesser of two evils' for the past couple hundred years gotten us? I mean sure; you may listen to the main-stream Christian who tells you something like, 'it's only your civic duty before God to vote', and 'if you vote for someone who doesn't have a chance ( 3rd party ), you're throwing away your vote; even worse, it's a vote for the more evil of the two ( D & R )'! While it is true that 'someone' has to govern, why must we have someone else to govern 'us'?

The problem of evil, for as long as it has been around, has been a human problem, and as long as mere human beings hang around, the problem of evil will never be completely solved, or done away with! Yes; I'm saying that humanity is inherently evil, and no, I'm not saying they're all bad, or totally corrupted! ( confused yet? )

There are too many people out there, including the majority of Christians, but specifically leaders of all sorts, who seem to think that we can solve our problems through the same means that created the problems in the first place. The founding fathers of this country did many good things, and we honor them for the things they did right, and the sacrifices they made for the foundation of this country, but they were not perfect! There were flaws in the documents that they wrote, and the laws that they made. ( please don't get me wrong: both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are well-written and very workable documents, for their purposes ) Beginning even before those exalted fathers even thought of drawing breath, the notion of the separation of church & state was proposed. At the time, it may have seemed like a good idea, and indeed it was very much a necessity for religious freedom, to say nothing of civil liberty. The Catholic Church, which made the claim of being the only true church, was in control of the state, and you need not much of an imagination to see how that would all trickle down to the lowest peon.

'No King, but King Jesus'

What a noble cry and aspiration! If we would shout this from the housetops as the patriots did on the battlefield and live it as our founding fathers did, shedding their blood, both on the courtroom floor, from the pulpit, and on the battlefield, we might have a fighting chance to turn this beast around and bring this nation back from, it seems, the brink of destruction.

It is necessary, you may say, to have these laws, to have these governors, and for the purpose of holding evil in check, and of punishing law-breakers, I would tend to agree. However, realizing first of all, that Jesus ( God ) IS our King, not because we say He is, but just because He is, we must understand that 'we the people' have been given the power and authority to govern, not others so much as ourselves. If we would correctly, according to the Revelation of God's Word, govern ourselves, without the interference of any outside contender, think how that would, not trickle down, but flow outward!

Should we then just give up the power that God through our founding fathers vested in 'we the people', without a fight? Should we just let the world go to hell ( in a hand-basket )? Should we not make every effort to place governors in office that will rule ( lead ) according to that Revelation? Damn right, we should!!! Should we vote for 'the lesser of two evils' because they're the only choices available?? Hell no!!! If Jesus is truly your King, then act like it; acquit yourself like a man, govern yourself, and tell those who would claim authority over you that God did not give them, to 'GO TO HELL'!

True Authority

Man, in all his wisdom, is not God! This may be a shocking revelation to some, more or less, but this much is abundantly clear. We have lately been reminded by a dear brother that even his God-given gift of wisdom could not save king Solomon, and neither the Law nor the Temple could save Israel! Though men are gifted howsoever by God, it is only through, or by, Wisdom itself that Rule can be truly just, and everlasting!

'Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.'

Solomon himself wrote this famous proverb ( 3:5 & 6 ), and though it would seem that he didn't take his own advice, it is most just and true. We can have all the wisdom in the world, but if we do not lean on the Wisdom which founded the world, but trust to our own questionable and unstable wisdom, then we may as well vote for 'the lesser of two evils', give up on the idea of ( any ) government, and let the world go to hell in a hand-basket!

'Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities.'

'For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.'

According, not only to Paul above, in Romans 13:1, but in all of Scripture, and even common sense; where does authority originate? Where does anyone get their power? The simplest and truest answer to those questions is 'God'! God alone has the power and authority to exert His will over others, and He gave that power and authority to His Son, Jesus the Christ ( Matthew 28:18 ), and through Him, to His people!

The question stands firm then, I believe; 'does one truly have authority if he does not wield it for good, as it was intended?' We can say, with authority, that, just as one does not truly have wisdom unless he leans upon the True Wisdom, then one does not truly have authority unless he leans upon the True Authority!

By the authority vested in us,

Charles Haddon Shank