Reading the Bible recently, in 1st and 2nd Kings, there is a main theme running through these historical writings: The moral state of the king directs or determines moral state of the people. The spiritual nature of the leaders is seen in the populace. The people follow the king’s lead. For example, king Jehoram “did what was evil in the Lord’s sight”. The king set up worship of idols of false gods! The people began to worship, nationwide, the idols, so the nation slid into evil.
Note: the religious leaders did little to try to stop the descent of the nation into sin. To be sure, there were prophets who spoke out to “turn from their wickedness and their wicked ways”. Occasionally there were towns or cities who did not follow when the king turned against God. For example, the town of Libnah did not approve the king turning to worshipping idols, and did not do the same. The kings and priests did not heed the prophets’ warnings.
This behavior was not (and still is not ) limited to Israel and Judah. Now this principle - people follow their leaders in all cultures are nations, to this very day. Leaders who operate without regard to the Lord and His ways rule with harshness, terror, and death.
This is a truism for all civilizations. Seldom, if ever, do the people rise up and demand to be led better. Looking at history, kingdoms and tribes on every continent have devolved into evil and damaging practices - both religious and secular.
For example, the Aztec empire was one of torture and death - early explorers found huge mounds of bones and skeletons surrounded their ‘temple’. In the Middle East, the nations’ religious ceremonies sacrificed their children, killing and burning them. In the Greek pantheon of gods, cult prostitutes were common. Rome was especially cruel in the way they treated subjects - the ‘Circus’ was battles between prisoners, and was famous for the statement, “We who are about to die salute you” - ‘games’ in the coliseum with killing, death, and crucifixion of any who would oppose their rule.
The French Revolution ended in a brutal war, with beheadings (including their queen and several of the leaders of the revolution). During the ‘Great Enlightenment’ there were riots, murders, the rebels turning on each other, death by guillotine with crowds cheering at each grisly death.
And then there is everyone’s bogeyman - Hitler - who turned a mostly peaceful nation into a horrifying Nazi regime which sent people to death camps. Plus look at any communist nation with millions and millions and millions of people killed by their godless leaders.
You might say we have grown and matured. Really? It isn’t hard to find cruelty and awful practices all around us. Consider the criminal gangs and cartels in South America and Mexico. The feckless leaders in Canada are not beacons of hope and morals.
Our country is being led by people who do not do right. We do not have a king, but the President is our national leader, mostly secular; but in truth, the actions of the President (or Vice-President) display the spiritual depravity of the USA’s leaders. No longer do they feign to do right while going in the wrong direction. They openly and brazenly lie. Our news organizations do not call attention to the truth. This is a version of ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’. We are told they are doing a wonderful job, except it is not a story, but is deadly and dangerous. We hear, “He is the smartest, sharpest president in our history” (paraphrased), as we watch him stumble and bumble and stare blankly into space. We are told, “This is the best economy in 100 years”, except the cost of every thing is 15-50% higher than four years ago. Another lie, “The mask will protect you from Covid,” when you know the virus would have to be the size of a golf ball to be stopped by those paper masks. How about the call for ‘reproductive rights’? These boil down to ‘let us kill your babies!’ We are descending from off-base or wrong, down to corruption and open evil. And not the least is the ‘sexual revolution’ where we see our children being groomed to perversion, or mutilated and permanently harmed trying to turn boys to girls, or vice-versa.
These are not isolated incidents. These are just a few examples of the corruption and depredation that is happening right now in our
We do not need to follow these leaders who would take us away from Judea-Christian principles. We need to speak up, stand up and let people know there is a better way to live. We are all sinners and in need of Jesus Christ in our lives. It is important for us to be heard in the public square, and championing life through Jesus Christ.
We have a great opportunity. Some polls and surveys have shown that the USA is becoming more and more unchurched, or unaffiliated with churches. Perhaps the largest ‘church’ in our nation is worship of self. I don’t know if people are merely unchurched and uninterested in having a religious faith, or if they are becoming hostile to Christianity. I do believe the modern media - both entertainment and news - are working hard to turn people against the church. That is our opportunity - to share Christ and what He has done for us personally. It’s not about church, but it’s all about Jesus Christ.
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