Whose Law is it Anyway?

(Note: This entry contains comments based on questions raised by a friend about an article. As such, this entry is divided into sections for various parts of this discussion.)

https://www.npr.org/2020/10/05/920416357/justices-thomas-alito-blast-supreme-court-decision-on-gay-marriage-rights)

First of all, I commend you for reading and researching to be well informed on issues! :-)    

      This is a thorny topic and there are a lot of things that could be said on it. I will try to answer some questions raised here as briefly as I can.

    Why is the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling considered to be "ruinous" for religious liberty? If those who oppose same sex unions based on religious views, (which would include Orthodox Jews, Muslims, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons and Christians), are forced to perform and endorse such ceremonies or ostracized because of their beliefs, then yes- those are ruinous effects on religious liberty.

    To the point about the divorce rate among straight couples, it is true that it is a 50% or more rate and that is very sad. That is certainly not part of God's design for marriage. In Matthew 19, Jesus says the only allowance God makes for divorce is for marital unfaithfulness. 

Of course, just because the sanctity of marriage has been cheapened by this sin does not mean that it should be further compounded with more sin.

   To be clear, the phrase "separation of church and state" is not actually in The U.S. Constitution. I agree the state should not tell the church what to do. The church doesn't tell the state what to do though; God tells everyone what to do in The Bible.

   Laws man puts in place must still be based on something beyond himself otherwise it's just popular opinion.

   Marriage is indeed a religious institution as God performed the first marriage in Genesis 2 in giving Eve to Adam. Genesis 2:24 defines God's standard for marriage, as Jesus quotes in Matthew 19- "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the two shall become one flesh." (Note the order there of leaving parents, joining in holy matrimony and then having sexual relations as husband and wife. Note also that God's design is one man joined with one woman for life.)

    That is the primary reason for objecting to the idea of a same sex union, though one could argue biology speaks to this as well, which would be a non-religious reason.

   To hold to this belief only makes a religious person bigoted against sin, as is God for that matter. Of course, God doesn't say things arbitrarily. As the Creator and Designer of all life, He has the right and authority to lay down laws for everyone.

    No one wants their freedoms taken away but I don't believe that has happened. People who identify as having homosexual tendencies have always been free to marry. However, marriage is still defined as the "institution whereby men and women are joined in a special kind of social and legal dependence for the purpose of founding and maintaining a family." It's "the mutual relation of husband and wife in wedlock." (That's from the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition, copyrighted 1999.) The word "marriage" itself dates at least to the 14th. century in the English language. And the institution is as old as the beginning of time.

    What the 2015 US Court case does is redefine the meaning of marriage to be expanded to include partners of the same sex. And that directly goes against God's Word, both in violating the design laid out in Genesis 2:24, as well as in violating the commands against homosexual coitus (Romans 1 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, among others). (Since many people enter into marriage with the expectation of having sex at some point with their spouse.)

    Yes, we should all be concerned about our walk with God. Part of that requires Christians to speak out against wrong doing and warn people about the wages of sin, which is death. (Romans 6:23) But the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus died and rose to pay for all sins for all time, including the sin of homosexual relations. He wants to save everyone who will let Him. All one needs to do is to confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in their hearts that God raised Him from the dead. (see Romans 10:9-13) Put faith in Jesus and Jesus alone for forgiveness of all sins and follow Him in repenting of those sins and asking Him to help you in obedience to Him. We are saved by faith alone in His grace alone through Christ alone- and that salvation changes us to do the good deeds He made us to do all along in gratitude to Him for what He's done.

    All that said, everyone has to make their choice. We all have free will. America must base its laws on something. It has largely been based on the moral precepts of The Bible due to the Judeo-Christian heritage of many of the founders. How does one distinguish which laws Americans deem acceptable? What is the moral basis for those laws?

The standard of "do no harm to self or others" seems to be what I often hear. If that's the standard used, I would say that homosexual unions do hurt someone- they hurt God and they hurt the people who engage in them.

   Of course, even if one wanted to argue that a particular action could not be hurting any human- like choosing to kill one's own pet animal- I would still say it's wrong because it is a violation of the higher law that God has put on all of us to take care of all His creation.

1 Corinthians 10:31 says that whatever we do must be done for God's glory. Thus, any sin that one engages in would be violating that command.

   That's what it comes to in the end. Either we will choose to follow Christ and live for His glory or reject Him and live for our own. I personally don't agree with the 2015 court ruling but I also recognize I can't force anyone to live according to The Bible. All I can do is lovingly tell people about Jesus' grace and the salvation He offers that gives us a peace and joy and satisfaction infinitely better than the hell our sins lead us to and any temporary enjoyment they might bring before then. Jesus is better than anything else I desire. I choose to follow Him. All I want to do is love The Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and love my neighbour as myself and speak the Truth in Love. 

(Follow up comments)

Those are some good questions. Should people of different religious beliefs (or none) be forced to comply with rules they may not agree with? Perhaps that comes across as unfair to some but everyone has to deal with that though. The law applies equally to everyone. Thus, there are things the law allows that I don't believe in but I am still forced to abide by the laws of the country.

(This is a bit of a different conversation, but this is where Romans 13 and its call for me to respect the government authorities God put in place would come into play. However, at the same time, I must obey God rather than men. (Acts 5:29) As I've long said, if it ever comes down to God vs. the government, I choose God over the government.

   As to the way people are born, I would agree that there are people born with homosexual inclinations. That doesn't mean God made them to be that way. In fact, Ecclesiastes 7:29 says God made man upright but they have sought out many schemes. God made Adam and Eve morally perfect but He also gave them free will. They chose to sin and cursed the whole world to be subjected to sin ever since. Thus, those born with homosexual inclinations are born that way because we're all born into sin. (Psalms 51:5)

 (One could say the same for someone born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and a proclivity to drunkenness as a result. Getting drunk is a sin (Ephesians 5:18) but such a person still has a choice over whether to pick up the bottle or not. The same is true for homosexual people in choosing whether to engage in such relations or not.)

In fact, there are a number of Christ followers who struggle with that inclination who choose to deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Christ in a life of celibacy in order to be obedient to the sexual ethos God lays out in The Bible. (Check out  

https://spiritualfriendship.org/ if you're interested in hearing their testimonies and writings on these matters.)

    And of course, I don't expect you to agree with everything I say and that's okay; that's your right to do so, just as I don't agree with all your points either but I respect your right to them.

   That is sad that some would be disadvantaged financially with healthcare because of a marriage by law. It's a shame that our laws are not made to incentivize marriage more. 

I don't mean to be harsh but if one wants an answer to God's view of marriage, I would point one to Jesus' words in Matthew 19 about one man being united to one woman for life in holy matrimony.

I do believe God understands and cares about people in such conditions though as well. I would also suggest considering Jesus' words to the Samaritan woman in John 4. Philippians 4:19 says God will provide for all our needs for those who are in Christ. Oftentimes following Jesus means going against human wisdom but we must also trust that His thoughts and ways are higher than ours. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

   I am sorry for those facing trying circumstances in relationships and I pray that God might bring them aid in dealing with those and wisdom in regards to marital status. I would also suggest seeking counsel with a church pastor, who might be able to help with further resources. ❤

There are a number of Christian ministries that help with such concerns. Here is one such example. (http://www.coopmin.org) 

(Other comments)

Every person's beliefs guide their work (and life in general). That goes for religious and non-religious people.

   The Supreme Court justices are supposed to rule based on the Constitution, even if it's at odds with their religious or non-religious beliefs.

   Of course, it's worth noting that the framers of the Constitution certainly at least to some degree relied on the moral precepts of The Bible, given the Judeo-Christian heritage of many of the USA's founders.

   Whatever laws man puts in place are based on something- either God's Word or popular consensus. 

I can understand people's concerns on this and I appreciate the sentiment that Supreme Court Justices should be interpreting the Constitution and not seeking to work their own particular religious beliefs into law. They are not supposed to be lawmakers in the first place.

And yes, I am thankful for the First Amendment that guarantees the freedom of religion for all (as well as the freedom to not hold to a religion too.)

     

How Now Shall We Live?

     How do you separate church and state? If The Bible and all other religious books are not utilized to form or at least inform law, then what moral basis is used? Who even defines what morality is and if it's a good thing? Perhaps immorality would be better? Perhaps some things religion has called moral are really immoral and vice versa? Who can say?

    I think President Obama was right in recognizing that America does still have a very large Christian population, but there are also Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, and other faiths- and people of no faith.

   Yet the thing that America has to recognize in its history is that many of its laws in place echo the commands of religious texts, primarily The Bible because there were many Christians who helped found the country, alongside Deists and others who at least had a general respect for The Bible and Christianity, even if they themselves were not Christ followers.

   (This is not to suggest that America has had a good record of consistently following The Bible in its decisions because all are sinners and fall short of God's glory. In any case, I don't like the term "Christian nation" because a nation can't follow Christ- only individuals. One of the main points of America's founding is freedom of religion, which allows for anyone to worship God in any faith they choose or to not do so at all. It is always a voluntary choice- never forced upon people by government. In that sense, separation of church and state certainly exists.)

    That said, it must be clarified that here I am speaking of people forced to follow a religion, of which there are a number of countries that practice this, with harsh penalties in place for anyone following or promoting anything other than the state religion. Thankfully, America does not have this system in place. Yet there are some laws that certainly comport with Christianity's tenets (along with a number of other religions) that inhabitants are compelled to follow or face consequences.

    Laws against theft and murder would certainly resonate with religious texts- should these laws be overturned because of their religious nature? The main value behind such laws is a respect for human life and property of human beings. Why do we regard human life with such supreme value? For the Christian, it's because human beings are made in the image of God and are the pinnacle of His creation. God commands us to respect and value human life because He loves us eternally and holds us in a status of infinite importance in His kingdom. To steal from someone or murder someone would not only be a grave evil to the person, it would also be a besmirchment to God and His creation.

    I think most would agree, regardless of their religious status, that these are good laws that should stay in place. I recognize some would offer vastly different reasons for valuing and upholding such laws but we would still be agreed on their worth and need to be in place. Is that the solution then? Should we establish laws by consensus? Perhaps within the election cycle for leaders there should also be moral surveys in place to determine the nation's general consensus on morality.

Otherwise it could just be left to each individual to determine what is right in their eyes and live accordingly.

(Of course, at least one society did that for a while in history and it didn't work out well for them. See Judges 17:6 and 21:25 in The Bible.)

   In the end, it comes back to the question, "How should we live?" We must then address the question, "Why should we live that way?" Who is the ultimate authority in governing the affairs of men and women?

In order to build a building, you must have a foundation. If the foundation is not sure, the building falls. The same is true for nations.

Christ and Caesar, Politics and Pulpits and Everything In Between

(Note: For this reflection, I offer a response to some critiques levelled at some Christians' political choices. It seems it has been a constant refrain since the 2016 US election to hear various critiques and defenses regarding Christians and their politics. I think this is an area we as the church need to examine, for sure, but we must always do it in love. I am largely basing this writing on the blog entry posted below. I will post a different article that suggests a way forward for Christians in engaging politics at the end.)

https://johnpavlovitz.com/2018/08/16/christians-supporting-trump-arent-christians/?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=facebook_page&utm_medium=John%20Pavlovitz


        The distinction between actions and attitudes of Christians and non-Christians is spot on. I have read some of Mr. Pavlovitz's blog entries before. He offers a lot of self-reflective critique that the Christian church needs to sometimes examine. I can't say I always agree with all his assessments though. One point I would say regarding this piece- I hesitate at ever saying who is a Christian and who is not. Ultimately, only God knows people's hearts and if they have truly put faith in Jesus' death and Resurrection to pay for their sins and follow Him. It is not my place to judge that and so I will always give people the benefit of the doubt. However, that said, Jesus said that we will know His disciples by their fruit- good trees produce good fruit and bad trees produce bad fruit. (Matthew 7:15-20) So I can often say of many professed Christians that I feel about 99% sure they're not who they claim to be.
The Bible actually exhorts Christians to examine ourselves and see if we're really in the faith. (2 Corinthians 13:5-8) So there is definitely a need to hold a mirror up to ourselves and make sure we're really reflecting Christ.
It is also worth noting that this pendulum swings both ways. As much as our works should be present to demonstrate our faith in Christ (Philippians 2:12-13, Ephesians 2:8-10, John 15:8, the entire book of James basically), our good works must be done out of our faith in Christ and because of that or they don't count for anything. Jeremiah 17:9 makes clear that no one naturally has a good heart. Rather, the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked- who can know it? Isaiah 64:6 says that all our good deeds are like filthy rags before The Holy Lord God. Not only can we never do enough good works to please God (since His standard is absolute perfection- Matthew 5:48, Leviticus 11:45), we can't even truly do any good works apart from His righteousness working in us! In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus delivers some of the scariest words in The Bible. He clearly says that not everyone who says to Him 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of Heaven but only the one who does the will of His Father is in Heaven. On the last day, many will say to Him, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name?' And then Jesus will tell them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.' (Some translations add, 'The things you did were unauthorized.') Chilling words indeed! Shortly before He said this, Jesus warned about wolves in sheep's clothing. There are numerous other warnings regarding this. (See Matthew 13 for Jesus' parable of the weeds and Matthew 25 for Jesus' parable of the sheep and the goats.) In Acts 19:11-20, there is yet another example of this, when some guys went around trying to heal folks of demon possession by invoking Jesus' Name even though they didn't know Him and this one time the demon possessing a dude called them out on it, saying it knew Jesus and Paul, but who are those guys? The demon-possessed man overpowered the lot of them and beat them up, so that they fled naked and wounded. And thus, the Name of The Lord Jesus was extolled.
There are numerous other passages that speak to this as well (Romans 1-3 and Galatians 3 and the book of Hebrews all offer explanations of the balance and relationship between faith and works.)
I personally have decided that I am not going to judge someone's Christianity (and/or religiosity in general) based on their political choices alone. I have friends who are on very opposite ends politically (both some who vote Democrat or Republican or something else altogether) and I don't doubt their faith in Christ. Now I do think faith in Jesus should direct and influence our politics and voting, as it affects all of life. But I don't think the pastor should tell the church who to vote for. My advice on that is to vote for who you think God wants you to vote for. Thus, do research on all the candidates and pray and vote as you feel God leading you.
And this is where it's important to note a definition of terms. What does it even mean to support the President? By definition as American citizens, don't we all support the President regardless of our religious faith or lack thereof? I mean, surely we all want the President to do a good job of leading the country and hopefully make wise and morally right choices for the country. In some general sense, I support every President in the hope that he or she will perform the duties of the office to the best of their abilities, whether I voted for them or not. It should also be remembered that not everyone who voted for President Trump agrees with everything he says and does and only did so extremely reluctantly because they felt he was the best viable choice that might make some decisions that would honour Christ better than others. In the same way, some Christians may have voted for Mrs. Clinton extremely reluctantly only because they felt she might make some decisions that would better honour Christ than others. The same could be said for the other candidates. As I've already said, I'm not going to judge anyone on the basis of their political persuasions alone. Too often this leads to untenable assumptions and mischaracterizations made about people due to my own biases and stereotypes held about any particular political party and that is a large part of our problem in America, I believe.
Though I have voted in every presidential election since I've been old enough to do so, I certainly have not supported everything all the Presidents have done, even for ones that I voted for. For the last two presidencies, I have not voted for the candidate who became President. For the last two elections, I have not voted for the Republican or Democrat candidate (or the Libertarian or Green Party candidate, either for that matter- because there are more than two parties in America). Ultimately, unlike the joking comment Jamie Foxx once made about President Obama at the 2012 Soul Train Awards, my Lord and Saviour is Jesus Christ. I look to Him above any other human being. (Isaiah 2:22) He allows some to be in power and takes them down too. (See Daniel 4) I am eternally grateful that He is eternally in control and He is still on His throne and holding the whole world in His hands, no matter how crazy it gets. I pray for earthly leaders and support the policies I can agree with Biblically and other times I have to submit to ones I disagree with out of greater respect for The Lord and the human authorities He has established. (Romans 13 speaks to this point well.) However, when the policy in question puts me in a place of choosing between following the government or God, as Peter said in Acts 5:29, 'We must obey God rather than men.'
That is all I can do in the end. I stand for Jesus and the things He said to do and I try to let Him work in me more all the time so I can ever be more like Him and be the light of the world He called me to be. I do try to give credit where I can when it's due to any President and I also stand against things that are Biblically morally wrong, even if it is something the President is pushing and promoting. I take advantage of the freedom afforded me to make my views known through peaceful free speech, assembly and petition, freedom of the press and freedom of religion, and through voting in elections. And through it all, I ultimately look to The Lord Christ above all else because I know He is always in control and His kingdom always reigns above all- and I'm glad He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. I just remember that I've got another King coming. :-)


For another article to consider about this topic, check out this opinion piece from Rev. Timothy Keller.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/29/opinion/sunday/christians-politics-belief.html

God in the Poll Booth

Well, not only am I going to break the old saying about not talking about religion and politics in mixed company (since more than likely there will be disagreements and we can’t seem to amicably handle those situations by agreeing to disagree agreeably), but I’m also going to mix both religion and politics and talk about both here. And yes, with the 2014 U.S. mid-term elections around the corner of the calendar, it seemed appropriate timing.
              Let me point out what I am not going to do here though. I have no intention of ever telling anyone how to vote and who to vote for, as I feel people are capable of making their own minds on that and should, empowered by careful research, follow their own conscience on such matters. I don’t endorse any particular candidate but Jesus Christ and I don’t endorse any particular party except for the one Jesus throws in Heaven with all the angels at just one sinner who repents. :-) I don’t even really endorse any particular ideology other than Christian theology entrusted to and enacted by hearts that have been set free by the crucifixion of Christ on the cross at Calvary and the glorious Resurrection of Christ that brings restoration, redemption and renewal.
                In fact, I will go ahead and lay out my only bit of voting advice. Vote for whoever you think God wants you to vote for. Grammatical issues aside, I think that’s the only issue at hand when it comes to elections. As 1 Corinthians 10:31 tells us, we should do everything for God’s glory and as Colossians 3:23 tells us, we should everything as unto The Lord (that is, with our best effort.) Those two verses speak to two major things that should guide our voting. And to be clear, I do think we should take advantage of the right to vote in countries that afford this privilege. [Sadly, this is something to remember too- voting is a privilege as in many countries it is not an option for the people at all.] If we are doing everything for God’s glory, then this includes our voting at the polls. And that should be the guiding principle for everything in our lives, of course. Now I don’t know what this will translate into for anyone else as far as candidates and such goes, but I do know that we should look for candidates who truly represent the values that God holds dear as much as possible. I know that this is not fully possible as we also must acknowledge that we are all miserable sinners who fall woefully short of God’s glory and ultimately, we can only hope to find someone who labors to uphold God’s standards, though obviously they will not be perfect in those efforts. We must extend grace to our leaders and everyone else, for that matter, just as much as we are so quick to extend to ourselves. If God is willing to be gracious and forgiving, then so must we, as Jesus made very clear in His parable of the unmerciful servant. (See Matthew 18:21-35)
                Ah, but the question is raised then- what of the circumstances when we can’t seem to find any leader that holds to and upholds God’s values? What to do indeed? Well, here is where our other guiding verse comes into play. As Colossians 3:23 says, we should everything as unto The Lord and offer our best to Him. (Many other verses make that principle clear- for instance, one of my favorites, Malachi 1:14, says it quite well. :-)) How can we offer our best to The Lord in the way we vote? I think this calls for discipline on our part to do good research on all of the candidates in the running and make informed decisions. As Hosea 4:6 laments, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” How true it is. So let’s make sure to do thorough research to find out, as much as possible, what the candidates really stand for and how it’s been played out in their lives thus far. An important distinction I want to make here is that I personally like to look at candidates and not party affiliations. I do not hold to the Republican party or Democrat party. Or the Green party. Or the Libertarian party. Or the Constitution party. Or the various parties that we tend to forget even exist past the big two. (Again, excuse my grammar there. ;-)) I don’t even hold to the Independent status. I am dependent on Jesus Christ and I hold on to Him above all else- and He is above all else- all political parties, all ideologies and philosophies, all kings and rulers, lords and gods- everything and everyone.
                This leads into one other important point I want to make on politics and leaders and so forth. As much as we should try to think the best of our leaders rather than the worst and give them the benefit of the doubt as much as we give others and ourselves most of all, this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t hold them to standards. As a leader, they are given greater responsibilities and held accountable by God. In fact, Romans 13 specifies that it is God Who sets them in authority. And He’s The One Who takes them down as well. And because God has set them in power, out of reverence for God, we are called to respect and obey the government authorities that God has put in place. We are also called to love our leaders, as Jesus commands us to love everyone (John 13:34-35), and respect them as well and pray for them. (See 1 Peter 2:9-25 and 1 Timothy 2:1-2) And this means adhering to the rules and yes, paying our taxes. (Jesus gave us the example in Matthew 17:24-27 as He paid His taxes. Of course, He had that cool trick where He could tell Peter to go fishing and that he’d find a coin in the mouth of the first fish he caught. :-) But nonetheless, as Christ provided for Peter’s tax and His own, He can certainly provide for us in everything. And we must remember what He taught in the incident in Luke 20:19-26- “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s [insert the name of your country’s government here ;-)] and to God what is God’s.”
                Now I must also acknowledge that there are times when the government might require unfair taxes from us and times when we may feel pushed to do things that go against God’s Word. And ultimately, if it comes down to the government vs. God, I’m going to go with God over the government. As Peter said in Acts 5:29, “We must obey God rather than men.” Until it is at that point, I think there are times when we as Christians are called to let ourselves be taken advantage of and remember that God sees all that is done and vengeance is His and He will repay people for their deeds. (Matthew 5:38-48, Job 34:10-11) It may also help us to remember the context of the verses that command us to respect and obey the government authority that God has established. First of all, as I said earlier, we particularly obey the government authority and respect it out of respect for God Himself and in obedience to Him, just as we do with our parents, teachers, pastor and other positions of leadership. But think about the people in Peter’s and Paul’s day. They were under the tyranny of Nero, who used Christians for nightlights! In a time when Christians were being thrown to the lions to be eaten for the Romans to enjoy as sport and when Christians were being burned at the stake- all because of their faith in Christ- this is when they are hearing God’s command to respect and honor the government institution of their day- which mean respecting and obeying Nero and the laws his government had established. (Except, of course, as noted before, when it came to laws that directly went against God’s Word.) If Christians then could obey this command and Christians in communist countries that live in dictatorships instead of democracies can obey this command, then I think American Christians and Christians in democratic countries particularly can obey this command. (And of course, our circumstances don’t really matter- we are still commanded to uphold and obey all of God’s Word whether we like it or not and no matter what the circumstances.) [Note: As a caveat here, I realize this last statement could lead into discussions over upholding the spirit of the law over the letter of the law and honoring the greater moral value (key examples being Rahab and the Israelite spies and the midwives serving Pharaoh at the birth of Moses, etc.), but that’s a discussion for another blog, perhaps.] [Also, please note: I am NOT making any comparisons whatsoever of any leaders to Nero. I am just pointing out different circumstances.] And ultimately, it’s all through Jesus’ power- we rely on His strength and His love to work in us to obey His Word and love, respect and honor others- even leaders that we may not totally agree with all the time.
                I know that some say that respect must be earned rather than given freely. However, I don’t feel that this is a Biblical attitude. Though I agree with the sentiment in some regards and I do think people should make the effort to earn respect through their lives, I also think that their seeming virtue or lack thereof (and by the way, we all have a lack thereof- the only virtue and good any of us have is from Jesus, if we are in Him) has nothing to do with the respect we owe them as people made in the image of God and loved eternally by Him. (Genesis 1:26-27, Jeremiah 31:3, Ezekiel 18:23, 2 Peter 3:8-9, Romans 5:8, John 15:12) We are called to love regardless- and love keeps no record of wrongs. And Jesus loved and gave Himself for us when we were yet sinners- and we can do no less for others. This is what we are called to do.
                And as we ponder all these things at the polls, we also know that ultimately God is in control of all these events and He knows what is to come- He laughs while the nations rage. (Psalms 2) He is in control of all things and He is the One we must trust above all else. Stop putting your trust in man, who has just a breath in his nostrils. [Which God gave him to begin with!] Of what account is he? (My quote/paraphrase of Isaiah 2:22). This is why I’m not really concerned too much with who gets elected and who is in charge. I know my King is always on the throne- and He’s King of Kings and Lord of Lords. (Revelation 19:16) And He reigns forever over all. And He will put all things to rights in His time. So take heart- we’re going to have trials and tribulations and of course, death and taxes, in this world- but Jesus has overcome the world! (John 16:33) So put your hope in Him and praise Him- His will will be done. Jesus rules! (And I mean that literally). :-)